Brokenheartsville
by amv4eva
Summary: And now look where we're at- she's got a boyfriend who's not really 'hers' at all and I'm stuck staring at the back of her head." Drew said. When May's boyfriend Joey's evil intentions toward May and Drew are shown, can Drew save them from broken hearts?
1. Welcome to Brokenheartsville

_Hello, peoplez! I am here to just tell you that I am currently re-writing Brokenheartsville, because the way it is now is crap. Everything's going to be pretty much the same, but it's going to be worded better._

_Anyway, I do not own pokemon or the song "Brokenheartsville" by Joe Nichols_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter One: **

**Welcome to Brokenheartsville**

The sun shined weakly on the forest path from the cloudy sky. Every now and then, a cool wind swept through the trees, rustling the bright green leaves with a _swoosh_. However, beneath them, a boy and his roselia were talking together, the boy completely ignoring his rather bleak surroundings.

"Today's the day, Roselia!" He said excitedly. Another breeze blew aginst him, ruffling his light green hair. His purple jacket kept him warm, as all he was wearing underneath it was a thin balck t-shirt. He was also wearing long blue jeans and was carrying a black bag on his back.

"Ros? Rose roselia rose roselia ros ros selia! (Huh? Drew, the Grand Festival's not for another month!)" Roselia replied. She was about as tall as her trainer's waist, with a red rose for a right hand and a blue rose for a left hand.

"Roselia, what have I been talking nearly nonstop about for the past two hours?" Drew asked.

"Selia. rose roselia ros seli roselia. (I dunno. I stopped paying attention at the five minute mark)." Roselia replied.

Drew rolled his eyes, "May! I'm finally going to tell her how I really feel!"

"Ros ros. Roselia rose seli rose roselia rose. (Bout time. How long have you liked her now? Some three years or so?)"

"Er..." Drew said awkwardly, a faint line of color rising into his cheeks.

His face softened into a small smile as he thought about that girl. May Maple. Drew had met her three years ago, when he was twelve. Back then, he had had a bit of a crush on her, but now... Drew would be the first person to admit he was completely head over heels for her. Kind, beautiful, smart, and an incredible coordinator, it had actually been pretty inevitable that he would fall in love with her. Roselia had always told him that May returned his feelings, but Drew had never plucked up the courage to actually admit it. And now, at last, at this Johto Grand Festival, he was going to finally tell her those three little words...

"Ros roselia roselia rose selia lia roseli. (Hey, Romeo, we're at New Rouge.)" Roselia said, snapping Drew out of his reverie.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, great!" Drew grinned. New Rouge was also the home of his cousin, Destiny. She was the owner of Maxwell Studios, which produced a lot of TV shows. Truthfully, New Rouge was a lot like Hollywood, California or Nashville, Tennessee. Stars were born, dreams came true. Maybe Drew's would.

There suddenly came a distant rumble of thunder. Drew looked up at the sky, and was surprised to see thick, dark clouds hovering above the city, looking ready to burst at any moment.

"It looks like it might rain..." he muttered. Roselia slapped her forehead. "Ros... (idiot...)"

"We should hurry," Drew said, quickening his pace so he could reach the Pokemon Center sooner. As he walked, though, he began to have doubts about what he was going to do. Should he really tell her how he felt now, or wait until later, hopefully when she was alone, training or something? Or could he just ask for a quick talk? Why didn't he consider this earlier?

"Ugh..." He moaned. Roselia heard this and smirked slightly.

When they reached the pokemon center, Drew took a deep breath. "Well, here we are."

"Roselia ros rose! (You can do it, Drew! Good luck!)" Roselia told him. Drew smiled slightly and returned the pokemon to the pokeball. As he stepped inside the center, a loud squeal greeted him.

"Oh no..." Drew muttered as a herd of fangirls engulfed him, surrounding him on all sides.

"Drew! Drew! It's Drew!"

"Drew, I love you!"

"Drew, will you marry me?"

"Drew, do you like my shoes?"

"Drew, I got a new flavor of lip gloss!"

"KISS ME!"

"Argh!! _Noooo!_" (A/N- poor Drew. LOL)

"Ivysaur, use vine whip!" a familiar voice called. A long, powerful green vine swept out and pushed the girls aside, freeing Drew from his heavily perfumed prison. All of the groupies shreiked and ran off in seperate directions like headless chickens. Drew seatdropped. _They just get stranger and stranger..._

"So, I see you're still popular with the ladies, Drew." The girl said. Drew turned to look at her and felt his stomach lurch.

"Hi, May." He said with a small, soft smile. Instead of the usual red outfit May usually wore, today she was wearing a pale blue-and-white t-shirt that showed off her slender figure and long, dark blue jeans with a brown jacket. Her appearance pleasantly surprised Drew.

"So, bulbasaur evolved?" Drew said as he leaned down and rubbed the top of its pale green head. "You've been taking good care of it."

"Really? Thanks!" May blushed lightly, giving Drew the spark of nerve that made him say, "Hey, May-"

"Oh, wait! I want you to meet somebody." May interrupted happily.

"You do? Oh, uh, okay," Drew said as May rushed off. An ominous feeling rose up in his stomach as Masy came back over, holding the hand of a tall, silver haired boy. He was wearing a white t-shirt, black jeans, and a black jacket with a matching hat.

_Oh no... this can't be happening... _Drew thought as May said, "Drew, this is Joey Graystone. He's my boyfriend."

_Boyfriend._ The word echoed in Drew's head. _Boyfriend_. His heart suddenly felt heavy as lead as it snapped in half. _Boyfriend_. An icy knife seemed to peirce through his stomach. _Boyfriend_. Clammy moisture broke out across his palms. _Boyfriend... boyfriend... boyfriend..._

"Ah... I'm sorry, what?" _Please let me have heard wrong, Oh my God, please..._

"My name is Joey." The guy said in a rather gruff, moody voice. "May and I got together about two weeks ago."

"Oh, t-that's great." Drew lied. His brain seemed to have jammed, trying to absorb this sudden, distructive blow. However, though Drew felt as if the world was crashing down on top of his head, something about Joey seemed... strange. A look of gloating victory seemed to be shining in his eyes, as if he sensed Drew's hidden despair and was relishing it, reveling in the fact that he had just stolen one of the only things Drew really, truly cared about.

Drew glanced over at May. A strand of her long, soft brunette hair fell over her shoulder, her sapphire eyes sparkling with the gentle, innocent glow they always had. A lump rose up in his throat. _I geuss I was too little too late._

"Oh, no, I just forgot, I need to pick up, er, some pokeblock for my absol. I'll see you later." Drew quickly made up, looking for an excuse so he could get away from that spot.

"It looks like it's about to rain, are you sure you want to go now?" May asked. The look of genuine worry in her eyes made the pain inside Drew nearly double.

He forced a smile on his face, though he felt a slight sting on the inside corners of his eyes. "Yeah, I'll be fast. Don't worry about me."

"Oh, Drew, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" May stopped him as he went past her, touching his shoulder lightly.

Drew looked away, his green hair falling into his face and in front of his eyes. "It doesn't matter." _Well, not now._

Before May could respond, Drew pulled away from her and walked out of the pokemon center, his hands dug deep into his pockets. As he went along, staring at the sidewalk, heavy drops of rain began to fell down onto the ground around him. After a while, when there was no one around -having gone inside to escape what was sure to be a terrific summer storm- Drew ran down the street, as if he thought he could escape the tears that were flowing down his cheeks as swiftly as the rain.

Finally he reached a park that was located between the ocean and a tall brown building with an antenna at the top of it. Drew stopped and sat underneath the tree, watching the waves crashing down against the sandy coastline in their windy fury. The rain that hit Drew felt like jagged needles scratching against his face, but he didn't care. It felt like the storm had turned the pain, chaos, and discord going on in Drew's heart and changed it into the crashing thunder and the lightning bolts way out in the ocean.

And finally, as Drew sat there, all alone, the unbearable truth hit him with such force he lost his breath:

May had gotten a boyfriend, and that boyfriend wasn't Drew.

At that, Drew's spirit shattered completely, and he broke down.

From the building came the soft sound of music, as if it sensed Drew's broken heart and picked out the perfect song for him:

_"Here's to the past, they can kiss my glass.  
I hope she's happy with him.  
Here's to the girl who wrecked my world,  
That angel who did me in.  
I think the devil drives a Coupe de Ville.  
I watched 'em drive away over the hill,  
Not against her will, an' I've got time to kill,  
Down in Brokenheartsville."_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_WAAAAHHH!! I'm SOBBING!! Everyone, review and tell me if you liked this rewrite. If not, well, sorry, but too bad. _

_Also: I got an account on fictionpress, so could you check out my story? (Well, when I finally get it posted?)_

_I'm called amv4eva on there, too. So it won't be too hard to find me. _

_Thank you for reading! The re-write of chapter 2 should be up soon!_


	2. The Eccentric Scott

_Hya__! I'm back! And here comes The __Chappie__ #2 rewrite! I hope you like it!_

_Drew: __Amv__, you're actually making me go through this all over again?!_

_Amv__: Yep! This __fic__ is redefining the term "Drew __Torturing__"_

_Drew: ... You're insane_

_Amv__: -cackles maniacly- yep! Well, I gotta get writing. Time to get back __inside__ the story now._

_Drew: Fine. -climbs into computer-_

_Amv__: O.o well, I don't own __pokemon__ or any of the __following__:_

_"Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney_

_"Wait for You" by Elliott __Yamin_

_"S.O.S." by Jonas Brothers_

_But, I DO own "I Shouldn't Miss You" by J! -winks-_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Two:**

**The Eccentric Scott**

The rain had long since soaked Drew to the skin. His Face was buried into his hands, which were resting on his legs, drawn up to his chest. If you could get a look at his face, it would have been completely impossible to tell the difference between the rain and the tears sliding slowly down his face. Drew wished more than anything at that moment that he had told her how he felt sooner; he could hardly bear to think about how happy he would be to finally have May as his girlfriend, as he'd daydreamed about for years. But no... If May had a boyfriend, she didn't have feelings for him, either now or ever... how stupid he had been, to delude himself into thinking he'd ever be good enough for her...

"What on _earth_ are you doin' out here in the rain, lad?" said a voice with a slight Irish lilt. Drew looked up to see a man, maybe in his early or mid-twenties, wearing a dark blue jacket with a hood that covered his head and left his face in shadows, and long, thick blue jeans. In his arms was a large brown paper bag that seemed bulging with groceries.

"Ah, it's too cold out here. Tell ya what, lad- why don't you come back to me flat and I'll talk to ya there." He continued.

Drew shrugged and stood up, his legs shaking slightly. It occurred to him for a moment that this guy could be a serial killer, but his gut told him that he could trust this man. "Sure."

The man nodded, and led him across the street to a tall apartment building. Drew followed him without really paying attention to what he was doing, so when the man stopped in front of his door suddenly, Drew walked right into him. "S-sorry."

"No harm done." the man replied, and he unlocked the door and pushed it open and went inside. Drew followed.

On one side of the room he entered was a dark blue couch facing a TV, and about five feet from the television was a small, round table with two chairs. But on the opposite wall... Drew's mouth fell open; he was facing rack after rack, shelf after shelf of CDs. There must have been at least five hundred on the nearest shelf alone. He stepped foreward and looked at the artists. They seemed to be arranged in no apparent order; OneRepublic, Chris Brown, Simple Plan, Avril Levine, Kaci Brown, Vanessa Hudgens, Keith Anderson, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Beyonce...

"Like my collection, do ya?" The man asked with a smile. He had taken off his jacket to reveal him wearing a dark red t shirt. Drew now saw that he had short, incredibly red hair and light brown eyes.

"Yeah... where did you get all these?" Drew asked.

"Ya know that building next to the park I found ya at? That's the radio station I work at. 98.3 The Blender. We play pretty much every kind of music ya can think of. I get these off work." He told Drew. "Well, if ya want some tea, it's over here."

Drew nodded and sat in a chair facing him. "Um, you never told me... what's your name?"

He smacked himself in the forehead. "Good Lord, I never told ya me name? No wonder you've been staring at me like I'm a weirdo. 'M name's Scott. Yours?"

"Drew." the green-haired boy looked down at his mug of sweet tea.

"The coordinatin' lad? I thought the hair was familiar. Ya got half the female population in love with ya!" Scott laughed.

Drew smiled slightly. It felt like the muscles in his mouth were working rather hard, as if he'd forgotten how to. He looked down again. "Yeah... It's ironic, isn't it? I could go out with any girl I wanted, but the one girl I've ever loved has just gotten a boyfriend."

"First class ticket to Brokenheartsville, huh?" Scott asked. His smile now seemed sadder, more sympathetic.

"A ticket to _where_?" Drew said, "I've never seen a city called 'Brokenheartsville' on any map."

"Well, you wouldn't." Scott chuckled, and then explained, "Joe Nichols has a song called 'Brokenheartsville'. It's actually just a fictional place. A stage you go through when you get your heart broken." And at that, he tipped back his head and sang sadly,

_"Here's to the past, they can kiss my glass.__  
__I hope she's happy with him._  
_Here's to the girl, who wrecked my world,_  
_That angel who did me in._  
_I think the devil drives a Coupe _de_ Ville._  
_I watched 'em drive away over the hill,_  
_Not against her will, an' I've got time to kill..."_

_"Down in __Brokenheartsville__..."_ Drew finished for him, recognizing the song that had been playing earlier. He took a sip of his drink, and then saw that Scott was eyeing him curiously.

"What?" Drew asked, looking down at his shirt, which was plastered to his chest, as it was still very wet. "Did I spill anything?"

"Do ya sing often, Drew?" Scott asked.

This question caught Drew by surprise. "Well... sometimes, if a song I like is playing on the radio and I know the lyrics and no one's around to hear me attempt to sing."

"Ya actually got a pretty good voice." Scott said, a small, thoughtful crease breaking across his forehead.

Drew's eyes grew wide. "_Me?_ No way."

"Ya really do, lad. Sing me a song ya like. I'm doin' and experiment here, help me out." Scott begged.

"What do I sing?" Drew asked, feeling extremely confused.

"Well..." Scott thought for a moment, "Sing how ya feel. Like, how ya felt when your friend got a boyfriend."

"Hmm," Drew murmured, thinking about that moment where his heart was shattered, the moment he found that the girl he loved had another man...

And before he knew it, Drew closed his eyes and sang:

_"Why don't you tell him that I'm leavin' never looking back again__  
__You found somebody who does it better than he can_  
_No more making you cry_  
_No more them gray skies_  
_Girl we flying on a g-5, g-5_  
_And we're leavin' never to come back again_  
_So call your _shawty_ you tell him you found a new man_  
_The one who's so so fly_  
_The one to keep you high_  
_Have you singing all night, Oh, _whoa_..."_

And after that, it seemed as natural as coordinating, he added,

_"I never felt nothing in the world like this before  
Now I'm missing you  
And I'm wishing that you would come back through my door  
Why did you have to go? You could have let me know  
So now I'm all alone,  
Girl you could have stayed  
but you wouldn't give me a chance  
With you not around it's a little bit more then I can stand  
And all my tears they keep running down my face  
Why did you turn away?_

_So why does your pride make you run and hide?  
Are you that afraid of me?  
But I know it's a lie what you keep inside  
This is not how you wanted to be_

_"So baby I will wait for you__  
__Cause I don't know what else I can do_  
_Don't tell me I ran out of time_  
_If it takes the rest of my life_  
_Baby I will wait for you_  
_If you think I'm fine it just _aunt_ true_  
_I really need you in my life_  
_No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you_

_It's been a long time since you called me_  
_(How could you forget about me)_  
_You got me feeling crazy (crazy)_  
_How can you walk away,_  
_Everything stays the same_  
_I just can't do it baby_  
_What will it take to make you come back_  
_Girl I told you what it is & it just isn't like that_  
_Why can't you look at me, your still in love with me_  
_Don't leave me crying._

_Baby why can't we just start over again__  
__Get it back to the way it was_  
_If you give me a chance I can love you right_  
_But you're telling me it won't be enough_

_So baby I will wait for you__  
__Cause I don't know what else I can do_  
_Don't tell me I ran out of time_  
_If it takes the rest of my life_  
_Baby I will wait for you_  
_If you think I'm fine it just _aunt_ true_  
_I really need you in my life_  
_No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you_

_So why does you __pride__ make you run & hi__de__  
__Are you that _afraid_ of me?_  
But I know it's a lie what your keeping inside  
That's_ not how you wanted to be_  
_Baby I will wait for you_  
_Baby I will wait for you_  
_If it's the last thing I do_

_Baby I will wait for you_  
_Cause I don't know what else I can do_  
_Don't tell me I ran out of time_  
_If it takes the rest of my life_  
_Baby I will wait for you_  
_If you think I'm fine it just _aint_ true_  
_I really need you in my life_  
_No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you_

_I'll Be Waiting..."_

When Drew finally finished, he was as surprised as Scott was. The silence between them lengthened until Scott said, "Drew... have you ever heard of Destiny Maxwell? The TV producer?"

"Destiny? Yeah, she's my cousin!" Drew said. His voice sounded rather thick from singing.

"Well, at the station, they're saying that she's looking for three more people to go on her new game show. You should call her and tell her that you want to come on!"

"Why?" Drew asked, wondering how this could possibly help him.

Scott lowered his voice down to a near whisper. "Imagine what your girl would think if she turned on the TV and saw you singing a heartfelt love song?"

"That I was a complete loser?" Drew guessed. (A/N- You have to admit, it's a really sad time, but that was kind of funny._ Drew: Shut up, __Amv__.)_

Scott rolled his brown eyes to the ceiling. "Be serious, Drew. She would think that ya had feelings for her!"

"That wouldn't help at all." Drew said, shaking his head, "If she found out that I had feelings toward her, the weird friendship we have between us would be ruined. I'd like to, but I can't. Besides, I've got to get ready for the Grand Festival."

"All right... If you insist." Scott's face fell slightly. But then he dug into his pocket and pulled out an ipod. As he slid it toward Drew, he said, "Take this. It has a bunch of songs about heartbreak on it, so when you're down, listen to this and I guarantee it'll make you feel better."

"Well... alright. Thanks." Drew nodded in gratitude and went to the door. "Thanks again, for everything."

"I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" Scott said, "I'd like to hear more about your girl problem."

"Okay." Drew waved, and shut the door. A bang of thunder announced that the storm was far from over. Drew put on the headphones and scrolled down the songs list. One title, "S.O.S.," by Jonas Brothers, caught his eye.

"What the heck?" He muttered as he pressed the center circle.

_"Told you I made dinner plans..."_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_BOOM._

Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and raindrops the size of bullets pounded her window relentlessly. May was wide awake, wrapped up in a blanket as she stared out the window. She had a good view of the ocean from here, so she could see the tall iron gray waves sweeping the beach clean. Thunderstorms as bad as these always made May nervous, but when she called Joey to tell her she was scared, he had said was, "You'll be fine, go back to sleep," grumpily. (_Drew: __grrrrr__... that jerk!)_Since all of May's Pokémon had been in the care of Nurse Joy, May was all alone in her room with the thoughts she just couldn't understand.

May was feeling extremely guilty. She knew that Joey was her boyfriend, but in the past few hours, she couldn't get another boy off her mind. Another boy she had once loved more than anything... another boy, another trainer... another coordinator...

"What's wrong with me?" May whispered. "Joey's my boyfriend, I like _him_. Not... not him."

And then May sang in her soft, angelic voice:

_"Oh, I shouldn't want this,__  
__I shouldn't want that._  
_I got a new man now and I_  
_Can't afford to look back_  
_Gotta move on with my life_  
_Enjoy my time with him,_  
_Can't waste time thinkin' bout what _could've_ been_  
_I know how much you and I have been through, _  
_Baby, I should be over you, _oo_,_oo_,_  
_So then why do I miss you?"_

May sighed as she looked out at the window, her heart heavy with guilt, confusion, and pain. "I shouldn't miss Drew..."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_That was a lot better than the original chapter 2._

_Amv__: __Haha__! __Yay__! That was fun!_

_Drew: I -twitch- am -twitch- going -twitch- to -twitch- kill- twitch- JOEY!!_

_Amv__: You're mad now? Please! Joey's only just getting started! I haven't redefined Drew __Torture__Fic__ yet!_

_Drew: YOU ARE SO DEMENTED!!_

_Amv__: Ignoring that... can you all tell me what you thought of the song May sang at the end? I wrote it myself. In about five minutes, so it really stinks. Thanks!_


	3. Not Who He Seems to Be

_I'm back! It's your favorite Drew Tourterer!_

_Drew: I've already said this, but you are crazy._

_Amv: I know. Well, to the people who hate Joey, now your loathing is going to double._

_Purpleduckies9: Is that possible? _

_Scorp1029: Nope._

_Amv: Oh, I assure you, it is. -smiles sadistically-_

_Purpleduckies9: I know I'm your best friend, but girl, you SCARE ME!!_

_Amv: Yeah, yeah. Scorp? You wanna do the disclaimer?_

_Scorp1029: Sure, whatevs. Amv4eva doesn't own pokemon or the song "When You're Gone" by Avril Levine._

_Amv: Enjoy! Oh, and I changed this chapter a bit. And about halfway through, I took an hour long break to watch Fruits Basket, so at a certain point the story gets all mukky and bad. Just thought I'd warn you._

**Chapter Three:**

**Not Who** **He Seems to Be**

_"I always needed time on my own  
I never thought I'd need you there when I cried  
And the days feel like years when I'm alone  
And the bed where you lie  
Is made up on your side_

_When you walk away  
I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day  
And make it okay  
I miss you_

_I've never felt this way before  
Everything that I do  
Reminds me of you-"_

Avril Levine's song was suddenly cut off by the sound of Drew's cell phone ringing. _Who on earth is calling me at one a.m.? _Drew wondered as he pulled out an earphone and picked up the phone. The phone number on his caller ID didn't seem familiar, but if whoever it was was calling him this early in the morning, it must be important.

"Hello?" Drew asked when he flipped it open.

"DREW!!" came a little boy's shout from the other end. He dropped the phone in shock. Picking it back up, Drew asked, "Max? What is it?"

"Drew, you have one of the telephones in your room, right? Call me on that right away!" Max cried.

"Oh, uh, okay," Drew replied, yanking off the ipod and crossing the room to the pale green box sitting on top of a desk. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear as he typed in the number. In a few moments, a boy about twelve years old appeared on the screen. He was wearing a dark green shirt with a white underarmor hoodie, and Drew knew that knee length, baggy brown shorts completed his usual outfit. But, to Drew's surprise, he wasn't alone.

Standing a little way behind him was a tall, tanned boy with spiky brown hair and very narrow eyes. Brock Obsidian was wearing his usual long cargo pants and an orange t-shirt under an olive green vest. Close to Brock was another boy, with messy ebony hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing light blue jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. Drew was even more surprised to find that Ash Ketchum was holding the hand of a girl with long orange hair tied in a side ponytail with hazel eyes. She was wearing yellow shorts and a jacket, and a red shirt.

"Hi, Max." Drew said to May's little brother. He quickly greeted Ash and Brock, but when he got to the girl, he said, "Hi, er..."

"Misty Waterflower." Ash explained.

"So you're together?" Drew asked.

Misty smiled and leaned her head against Ash's shoulder. "Yep!"

Drew forced a smile on his face, trying to stop himself from feeling jealous. No, not jealous of Ash for having Misty as a girlfriend, but for Ash having the girl he loved return his feelings...

"Are you alright, Drew?" Brock's voice cut through his thoughts. "You look all... depressed."

"Drew, have you seen May lately?" Max asked hurriedly.

"Oh, you know what? I have. I also met this other guy. Joey Graystone. Her _boyfriend._" Drew nearly choked on the last word.

"So, you met?" Ash said rather dumbly.

"_Charming_ boy, isn't he?" Misty sneered, pretending to throw up.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about, Drew!" Max cried. "It's really, really important!"

"I'm listening." Drew replied seriously.

"I think Joey has another girl."

Drew opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. The rage that was pulsing through him could only be said in words that Max was far too young to hear. Finally, he managed to sputter, "Wh-what makes you th-think that?"

"Well," Max started his story. "We met May and Joey here in Goldenrod about two days ago. We're here for Ash to try and get a badge, and then we were going to come to New Rouge to see May and you in the Grand Festival. When we met May, we also met Joey. But you know, there was something odd about him. Like, the way he seemed to hardly be paying attention to May when she talked, and when he would be all sarcastic when she was really happy. You know what she's like when she gets into that mode."

"B-but I used to be sarcastic to May, too-" Drew said, but Brock cut him off.

"We know as well as you do that you were only doing that because you were afraid to show your real feelings for her. We all knew that you were really falling for her." Brock said. He laughed for a moment at the red blush streaking across Drew's face, and then continued, "But Joey was different. It was like he meant it when he said, 'God, you're such a spazz' or 'How on _earth_ did you get to the Grand Festval?'"

"H-h-he said that? Straight to her face?" Drew looked completely mutinous.

"Yes, he did." Misty said, looking almost as murderous as Drew felt. "But there's actually more."

"More?" Drew said incredously.

"Yeah." Max went on with his story, "Then, I went to go to the store to pick up something that Brock needed, and I happened to see Joey sitting on a bench, talking on his cell phone. I hid in some nearby bushes and listened to thier conversation. It took only thirty seconds to realize that he was talking to a girl. He kept calling her, 'honey' and 'sweet' and 'girl'. But there was something else. He told the girl at the other end, 'It's all coming together. She doesn't suspect a thing.' And he also said, 'Don't worry. The second she says the word Greenie will be torn apart.' and last, he said, 'I'll be back soon.'"

As Max finished, Drew realized something warm was trickling down his arm. He looked and saw that, as he had been listening to Max with his arms crossed on the desk, he had been digging his nail depper and deeper into his flesh until it had actually drawn blood. Finally, with his voice shaking slightly, he said, "S-so he's planning something?"

"Yes." Brock said gravely. "Something that involves both May and you."

"But, it might not work." Misty said.

"How? Seems like it's already working from where I'm standing." Drew replied.

"Drew, the plan will only work if May likes Joey. But deep down... May might not realize it, but she likes someone else." Max said.

"Who?" Drew asked, his heart sinking even lower. So did May like two guys more than him?

"Isn't it obvious?" Brock asked. "Drew... May's in love with _you._"

It took a few seconds for this statement to sink in. Then, Drew felt a strange mixture of feelings: Pure joy, for finding that the girl of his dreams loved him back, and an aching, throbbing sadness, knowing that he'd lost his chance with her.

"What does it matter? If May likes Joey, she's happy. That's all I care about." Drew said sadly.

"She's not gonna be happy when Joey tells her that he never liked her like that and she feels like a major idiot." Max snapped. "She's not gonna be happy when she finds out her dear 'boyfriend' is a slimy, maggotty, filthy rat."

"Max, breathe." Brock said, resting a hand on the young boy's shoulder.

Drew raised an eyebrow. "You care this much about your sister's love life?"

"No," Max retorted, "I've always known that you two would wind up together. I care about my sister being with a guy who treats her right."

"But what we were calling about was to warn you about Joey. We would've told May, but we had no way to prove it, and with Max's reputation as the 'annoying little brother'-" Ash said, but was cut off.

"Or, as Joey puts it, 'irritating little brat'" Max muttered.

"-May won't exactly beleive him. Besides, I've got a feeling Joey had a story he would tell to make up for it. Drew, you have to look out for her." Ash finished.

"Guys, I can hardly breathe, and that's just thinking about them being together. You think I can be anywhere in the same room with them?" Drew asked.

"DREW!" Max shouted. "Drew, do you love May?"

"What-?! Of course I do!" Drew cried.

"Then you'd do this." Misty said gently. "For her. You're the only person who can keep this plan from working. Stop this plan in its tracks."

"But how can I stop a plan from working when I don't even know what the plan is actually trying to do?" The green haired boy asked.

"Just figure it out." Misty snapped.

"Alright..." Max took a breath. "Drew, like Misty said, you're the only person who can stop this. So try to figure out what Joey's plan is, okay? Until then, keep an eye on old silver hair."

"I'll do my best." Drew reassured him.

"Promise me, Drew."

Drew looked straight into the dark indigo eyes behind the thick brown glasses. "I promise."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Outside The Door..._

The silver haired boy heard Drew hang up the phone and climb into bed. He took the small glass away from the door and cursed. Stupid Greenie. Stupid, irritating little brat. Stupid, girl crazy loser. Stupid, overeating wannabe trainer. Stupid red-haired, mallet-happy idiot. Stupid, naive, oh-I'm-so-innocent bandanna head.

And it turned out that they were onto him.

"Looks like I have to kick it into gear." Joey muttered as he turned and went back to his room.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: Well, that sucked. _

_Scorp1029: Wow, I do hate Joey a lot more now!_

_Purpleduckies9: I think Drew's about to have a seizure._

_Drew: -Stands completely still, though still twitching slightly-_

_Amv: -waves hand- Ah, he'll be fine. Anyhoo, please review._


	4. Missing Her

_Amv: Helloooooo!!_

_Drew: Meh._

_Scorp1029: I see you're perky and lively._

_Drew: Meh._

_Purpleduckies9: Yeah, that's great. Anyway... amv doesn't own Pokemon. _

_Amv: Dern it! Enjoy!_

**Chapter Four:**

**Missing Her**

The early morning sunlight streaming through Drew's window seemed to be mocking him as the boy sat up the next day. As he stretched his arms out, he saw that the digital clock on the bedside table read 9:45am. For a moment he wondered why he was feeling so miserable deep down on the inside, but then the disastrous events from yesterday came back to him with a piercing clarity. For a moment, Drew buried his face in his hands and groaned, but then he remembered the intense conversation from last night. Drew knew one thing: he had promised Max that he would look out for his sister, find out Joey's so-called plan. And Drew knew that he would have to follow through with it. He couldn't lose May.

Drew rolled out of bed and quickly showered and dressed, deciding on something new. He put on a pair of long, dark blue jeans and a dark green button up t-shirt. Over that he added a black and navy striped zip-up jacket. (A/N-I saw this at Target, it is the hottest guy jacket I have ever seen. _Drew: SHUT UP! Scorp1029: Finally talking, huh?) _He ran his fingers through his green hair, double checked to make sure he had his room key, and left the Pokemon center.

The pokemon center opened right up onto the boardwalk of the beach, facing the ocean. Instead of the choppy gray waves of yesterday, the water was a clear, deep blue, almost as blue as May's eyes. _That analogy helped_, Drew thought, as he sighed sadly. How funny, it seemed like, in the course of having a broken heart, it made one notice other couples more. If Drew saw one group of people holding hands and giggling together as they walked, he had seen a dozen more.

Finally, Drew decided to get some breakfast at a small, quaint looking corner shop. Drew let himself smile slightly as he walked inside. It quickly fell away as he noticed that nearly every table was occupied by a couple, happily sharing a late breakfast.

"A table for one?" Drew asked the hostess. She appeared to be about his age, with long, gold-brown hair tied into two tight braids. Her eyes were a clear, bright blue behind a pair of blue glasses. She was wearing a long sleeved, white button shirt that she'd pushed up the sleeves of, and long black pants. She chuckled.

"Thought so." She took a menu out of a small basket on a table next to her and told him, "Well, if you'll follow me..." She lead Drew to a table located next to a window that looked out on the boardwalk. "Alright, my name's Bethany and I'll be your server for today. If you need anything and I'm not around, I'm working with Jack today, so you can ask him. He's the blond guy who can't carry a serving tray."

"Yes I can, stop lying."a boy said as he came to the table. He had medium long blond hair with the bangs coming halfway down his forehead and hazel eyes, though they were a little on the green side. He was wearing the same uniform as the girl named Bethany, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. He was also a few inches taller than her. To Drew, he said, "Well, I'm Jack and I'll also be your server today."

Drew, who was feeling slightly overwhelmed, said, "Nice to meet you...?"

They both laughed. Bethany looked over at the entrance, where a small line had formed. "Looks like the late morning rush. I'll see you later." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Jack lightly on the cheek and rushed off. Jack looked after her, his face flushed slightly as he smiled and raised a hand to his face.

"So, you're together?" Drew guessed. _This is so unfair..._

Jack grinned. "Yeah. We've been best friends for years, but we decided to try out being boyfriend and girlfriend last night. Bethany's getting ready for the Grand Festival. You know, she's also going on that game show, _Singing Stars. _We decided to get jobs here so it wouldn't be so boring. Anyway... what can I get you?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh..." -he quickly scanned the menu- "Some coffee and a bagel with peanut butter." he had momentarily forgotten that he was in a restaurant.

"Good, I'm not the only person in the world who puts P.B. on bagels." Jack muttered as he scribbled the order down on his pad. "I'll be back in a bit."

Drew shook his head at his goofy new friend as Jack walked away. He looked around at the people at nearby tables, all of whom were occupied by laughing groups of people. At a table nearby, Drew saw a group of people that make his insides shake: May and Joey.

Drew's mouth nearly fell open. May was wearing long black jeans and a dark red, spaghetti strap tank top with a white half jacket over it. A small line of pale pink hovered over her eyes, and she was wearing sparkling pink lip gloss.

_Oh...My... God_... Drew thought. It was good May wasn't looking over at him, because Drew knew he wouldn't have been able to tear his eyes away from her even if he tried. She was trying to engage Joey in conversation, but he was fiddling with his phone and was only muttering, "Right" and "Great" every few minutes.

"Alright, here's you're coffee... Drew?" Jack asked, waving a hand in front of the green haired boy's face.

"Wha-?" Drew asked, falling back to earth to see Jack eyeing him curiously.

"Hi, now that you've taken a residence on earth, may I ask what you're staring so intently at?"

Drew felt his face heat up. "N-nothing."

Jack snorted, and turned to follow Drew's gaze. When he located May, he laughed. "No wonder you're alone. She shot you down, didn't you?"

Drew glared at him. "I don't care if I hardly know you, Jack. I will strangle you with my stirring spoon."

The blond boy chuckled. "Don't worry, dude. I'm serving that table. The silver haired guy has got to be the rudest little pimple I've ever met. For real, who texts nonstop during a date? And then he got all mad at me when I needed him to repeat what he wanted to eat, because he just mumbled it to the screen."

"Can you do me a favor?" Drew asked. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "Can you dump a coffee pot over his head?"

Jack laughed again, "If I wouldn't get fired for it, I would have already. He was snappy with Bethany when she seated them. But the girl... I think it was May... well, she seemed pretty cool. Kept looking over here for some reason." he winked as he went off to the kitchen to get some more orders as Drew blushed faintly. He sighed as he looked back over at the couple. May, he saw with a surge of pity, had given up on conversation and was staring at her cup of yogurt, stirring her spoon around without interest.

Drew sighed again. If it was _him_sitting in Joey's place, May wouldn't have to resort to her food for something to do. He saw it playing out in his mind like a mushy soap opera, or like he had secretly always imagined...

_"So, May, what do you want to do today?"_ he would ask, smiling at her as she thought for a moment.

_"Hmm... Well, the Grand Festival's coming, and fast. Do you think we should train?" _May would reply, taking another spoonful of her vanilla yogurt.

_"Train? May, we've got a whole month! Let's go walking on the boardwalk. I've heard that there were some cool shops around." _He'd say, then taking a sip of coffee.

_"Drew, are you actually trying to get me not to train?"_ She would coyly ask, reaching over and poking him on the nose.

Drew would wave her away. _"Hey! My nose is very sensitive! And anyway, you're a great coordinator, you'll probably get to the finals! Battling against me, of course."_

And then she would laugh, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling the way they always did...

"DREW!"

"Argh! What?" Drew cried, jumping about a foot in the air as he returned forcefully to reality, to find a boy and a girl. The girl had long, sweeping coral-colored hair and pale blue eyes. She was wearing light blue jean shorts and a tan tank top. The boy was extremely tall, with wavy, shoulder-length purple hair and silvery blue eyes. He was wearing long beige jeans and a yellow shirt.

"Hi, Soledad. Who's your friend?" Drew couldn't quite decide if that was a boy or a girl.

"You know me!" He replied. "I'm the weird, crazy guy who dressed up like a Cacturn."

"Harley?" Drew gasped. "What are you doing now?"

"He's not up to anything, Drew!" Soledad cried.

"I'm a changed man, Drew." Harley told him, wrapping his arm around Soledad's shoulders and pulling her in close with a wink.

Drew stared for a second, and then buried his head into his hands. "You have _got _to be kidding me. Is everyone getting together? Harley and Soledad, Ash and Misty, Bethany and Jack, May and-" Drew couldn't finish his sentence.

"Whoa, slow down. May and who? I thought she liked you!" Soledad said, her eyes growing wide. She was originally the one who had told May that Drew had gotten feelings for her at the Kanto Grand Festival.

"Turn around." was all Drew told them. Harley and Sloedad turned around and immeidately saw May and Joey, still sitting together in silence.

"Who is that?" Harley asked, raising an eyebrow. "He looks emo."

Drew cracked a smile. "His name's Joey Graystone."

"What kind of a name is Graystone?" Soledad muttered. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Drew..."

Drew waved a hand airily. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, and Gyrados isn't a water type." Harley said sarcastically. "Drew, I think the only person in the country who doesn't know that you're in love with May is May herself."

"Figures." Drew murmured to his coffee.

Soledad rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you _sure _you're alright, Drew?"

Drew forced a very painful smile on his face. "Y-yeah. Of course I'm fine."

"Well... If you say so..." Soledad said softly, taking Harley's hand and exiting the cafe.

"Hey, I'm back," Jack said as he came to the table, holding a plate with a bagel on it.

"A-actually, I've kind of lost my appetite." Drew admitted.

"You have? So do you just want the check?" Jack asked, "And can I have the bagel?"

"Real sensitive, eh?" Bethany said as she went by with a coffee pot, nudging Jack playfully with her elbow.

Jack sighed as he watched her walk away. "That girl..."

_You seriously have got to be kidding me..._Drew thought. "Yeah, whatever." He handed Jack a twenty dollar bill and bid him goodbye. Drew left the little restaurant and went back down the boardwalk, heading for the park. When he finally arrived, he sat next to the same tree he had cried under the night before. There were a few people practicing with their Pokemon; Drew figured they were coordinators training for the Grand Festival. As he watched a girl with long, dark, curly hair practice with her Espeon, Drew sensed someone come and sit beside him.

"Hi, Drew." She said softly.

"Hey." Drew replied, his heart pounding loudly as he turned to see May_. Lovely. She looks even more beautiful close up_.

"Um, Drew... I kinda wanted to ask you something," May told him.

"Sure. What?" Drew immediately regretted saying this. Was she about to go into a long story about how she and Joey were madly in love or something? He didn't think his heart would be able to take that.

May didn't say that she loved Joey, but her question did involve him. "Well, I met Max, Brock, Ash, and Ash's girlfriend, Misty, in Goldenrod a few days ago. They didn't think that Joey had made a very good impression. Um, what do you think?"

"Uh... well, I haven't known him for very long, so I can't really judge him," Drew decided to sidestep the awkward minefield. If he told May how he really felt towards Joey, she would be both curious and disappointed.

"I guess you're right." May sighed. "He's a good guy inside."

_Oh, sure. Him and his sweet little plan to hurt the two of us._ Drew thought with a sigh.

"And, um, one more thing," May said, turning to look straight into his eyes. Drew prayed that she wouldn't see that he was blushing. "About yesterday. Whatever you want to say, you can tell me."

_Trust me, no I can't, _Drew thought, _I mean, I can't exactly tell you that your little brother eavesdropped on your sweet little boyfriend's conversation with this other girl and heard that he's working on something that's going to try and hurt the two of us. And it's not like I can tell you that Joey's nothing but a rotten scumbag and that I could be so much nicer to you than he is. And I can't tell you that I'm totally in love with you, can I?_

"Don't worry about it." Drew finally said.

"Well, at least we're still friends." May said quietly. "I'll see you around."

Drew watched her as she walked away, her long brown hair waving gently behind her in the gentle ocean breeze.

"But I want to be more than friends, May," he whispered. "I want to be so much more than friends..." An image suddenly came to his mind, burning into it with a piercing clarity: Himself and May, entwined tightly together in a passionate kiss, the sunset blazing behind them. Of course, though Drew had imagined him kissing May for at least six months, his hopes that it would become a reality had never been lower. How Drew longed for that single, breathtaking moment...

"Hey, lad!" came Scott's Irish voice, "How's it going?"

"Same as yesterday, but I heard some interesting things." Drew told him the long story of how he had received a late-night call from May's little brother, meeting Jack and Bethany, Harley and Soledad, and his short conversation with May. Then he told Scott how he had met May, teased her and given her roses, pulled her down and pushed her back up, and fallen flat on his face for her. The only things he had kept secret were yelling at her at the Kanto Grand Festival and his recent daydreams.

Scott listened without interruption, and when Drew finished, he let out a long,low whistle. "That's strange. This girl, May... she acts the way all girls act around the guy they like, but then she gets a boyfriend. I know that some girls sometimes do that to lead a boy on just to mess with him, but May doesn't seem anything like that." Scott quickly added, seeing Drew's angry glare.

Finally Drew lay his head back against the tree's rough bark. "Well, she seems happy. That's all that really matters to me."

"Seems like you really care about her, Drew." Scott said quietly. Drew nodded.

"I wish I just knew exactly what Joey has that I don't."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_I feel so terrible, _May thought as she and Joey wandered down the boardwalk. She had stopped pointing out interesting stores and funny cloud shapes a long time ago. Sometimes she would say something, but Joey would either not respond or would say something sarcastic.

"That's a cute dress." May said to herself thoughtfully as they walked past a shop. In the window, a manikin was wearing a knee-length, dark blue dress with a halter strap, connected to the dress by a small circle encrusted with fake diamonds.

"You wouldn't look good in it." Joey told her, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, no he didn't." A girl said from behind May. She looked over her shoulder to see Bethany, the girl who had been her waitress that morning. She had changed out of her uniform into long, light blue jeans that flared out at her ankles. A light pink jacket was tied around her slim waist, and she was wearing a "Sweet Jigglypuff" t-shirt that read "_I'm Cuter Than You. Deal With It_." Her boyfriend, Jack, was wearing tan shorts and a dark blue polo shirt.

"Hey, May!" She called, jogging up to the brunette. "You don't believe him, do you?"

"Well, I don't think he'd lie to me," May said slightly defensively.

"Well, let's go see!" Bethany cried, taking May's wrist and running to to shop, with a laughing May in tow.

"Wh-where are you going?" Joey shouted, "What about our walk?"

Jack snorted. "You were staring at the ground and ignoring everything she said. Some walk." Joey shot him a filthy look.

"Shut it, Blondie. You're the one who was flirting with your little girlfriend while you were supposed to be working."

Jack rolled his eyes. "At least I make her feel like she's important to me."

"Oh really?" Joey sneered, stalking off to a bench next to the entrance to the beach.

"Really." Jack muttered under his breath.

_Inside The Store..._

"See, May? What did I tell you?" Bethany asked proudly as May stepped out of the changing room.

Though May thought that Joey had just been honest with her, he had been wrong about May not looking good in the dress. The dress draped perfectly around her, not so close that it seemed too tight, but not loose enough that May's perfect figure was lost.

"Well, I geuss it's alright," May said as she surveyed herself in the mirror.

"You're being modest, May. That dress is so cute on you! Let's get it a necklace to match." Bethany said, and the two girls went over to a small shelf. Bethany held up a long silvery spiral on a long silver chain. "This would match."

"No, I don't really think so. I kind of wanted something with a flower." May told her.

"Like a rose?" said a voice. May jumped slightly as she turned to see Drew.

"What are you doing here?" Bethany asked.

Drew shrugged. "I was going to get one of those funny shirts that read 'Everything I Need to know about Life I Learned from Family Guy' and I heard you over here. So I just wanted to- _whoa_."

Drew had just noticed May's dress and his mouth fell open. Drew thought she looked cute before, but now... he couldn't take his eyes off of her. _Stop staring at her like an idiot!_

"Anyway, I better get going." Drew said, looking away so that May wouldn't see how hard he was blushing. He quickly left.

May felt herself flushing with both embarrassment and... pleasure. _What am I thinking? I'm trying to look cute for Joey!_

"I think Drew liked it." Bethany said with a little smirk, elbowing her friend.

"Oh, no he didn't. And who cares, anyway?" May said, trying to act nonchalant as she entered the changing room again.

"Apparently you do." Bethany muttered. They purchased the dress and left the shop to find Joey and Jack talking to each other, their faces inches apart. Joey's usually pallid face was flushed red, and Jack had his hands curled tightly into fists.

"Um, what's going on?" May asked when they reached the two boys.

Jack came to himself first. "I-it's nothing. What did you buy?" he eyed the bag as if he was afraid it would bite him.

"I bought the dress" May said happily.

"I told you you would look bad in it." Joey told her with a frown. The smile slid off May's face. As she looked down at her feet, Bethany cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"Let me at him, I don't care who's watching, I'll tear him limb from limb." She growled as Jack held her back, putting an arm tightly around her waist.

"Come on, Bethany, let's get out of here," He said in her ear. Raising his voice, he said, "We'll see you later." He and Bethany walked away, his arm still around her.

"Ugh. Come on!" Joey grumbled. He started walking off without May.

"Hey! Joey, can't you at least wait up for me?" She asked when she reached him.

"No." Joey replied sourly. "It's not my fault you're so slow."

May looked as if she was going to reply, but decided against it. She looked down t her feet again, trying not to cry. She hated arguing with him, so May always let Joey win.

Joey smirked as he watched her bite her lip to stop herself from snuffling. _Ah, well, it's her own darn fault! She can't pull that off, no use in even trying. Stupid._

May sighed as suddenly an unbidden image appeared in her mind. Suddenly -she had no idea why- she had remembered Drew's face when he saw her in that dress. In spite of her mentally kicking herself, a tiny smile spread across May's lips.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo**

_That was OK. _

_Amv: That was a fun chapter to write, although I really changed it up a lot. _

_Drew: Joey doesn't think May looked cute in that? (Thinking: OH MY GOD, I FLIPPING DROOLED.)_

_Amv: Yeah, we know, Rose Boy._

_Drew: -blushes- what?_

_Amv: Nuthin'. Please review!_


	5. A Plan to Counter a Plan

_Amv: Okay, I was going to make a big long funny disclaimer, but then I accidentally forgot to save this and when I came back to this page everything was gone, so I just have to kick it into gear. I don't own Pokemon or the song "So Sick" by Ne-yo. _

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Five:**

**A Plan to Counter a Plan**

_Dream: _

_"Oh..." May whimpered to herself, clutching her aching stomach, "I think I ate a few too many cookies..." May suddenly heard a series of bangs coming from behind her. Spinning around, May saw a solitary figure standing with his pokemon, illuminated by the full moon._

_"Drew!" She called, jogging over to him. He turned to look at her, his emerald eyes sparkling in the moonlight._

_"Oh, hi, May," He replied. "What are you doing out so late?"_

_"Uh... nothing," May said, stumbling over her words slightly. "What are you doing out here?"_

_Drew smiled, making May blush. "Training. I'm having desavu. Didn't this happen at the Kanto Grand Festival? What are you doing, anyway? Out to watch me practice?"_

_"See YOU?" May waved her hand in dimissal. "Of course not! I mean, why would I?"_

_Drew shrugged nonchalantly, though May was sure she caught a tone of disappointment as he said, "Well, I dunno. It's hard to ever really know what you're going to come up with next. You never fail to surprise me."_

_His comment made May blush even harder. Turning away, she looked up at the sky. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"_

_She heard Drew return his other pokemon as she gazed up at the sky. Then, in a low voice, she heard Drew say, "It's alright, I suppose. I've seen something a thousand times more beautiful than that."_

_"Oh, really?" May challenged with a laugh, "Like what?"_

_"Well," Drew said, "Like, those fireworks we all watched together when we met. And that sunset we watched together after the Kanto Grand Festival. And there's one last thing, I can't quite remember..."_

_"What?" May pressed, stepping closer to him, "How could you forget?"_

_"Oh, now I remember..." Drew laughed to himself. "You."_

_That reply caught May off guard. Finally, she stammered, "Y-y-you th-think I'm b-beautiful?"_

_Drew rolled his eyes, though May could see that he was blushing very hard. Then he smirked, and stepped closer to her. Twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, he said, "Doesn't everyone?"_

_"No." May told him, trying to calm her pounding heart. _

_Drew sighed. "Well, then they must be blind." He leaned in closer to her. "I should have told you a long time ago. I should've told you everything a long time ago..."_

_He gently ran his fingers through her hair, then cupped her left cheek in his hand. May felt as if her heart would soon explode, it was pounding so fast. Drew slowly leaned in close, slowly closing his eyes as he did. May mirrored him, slipping her eyes shut as she shivered in anticipation. They were so close, their lips were mere centimeters apart, but then-_

_"Too bad I lost my chance," Drew whispered. Then, a moment later, he pulled away, leaving May standing alone. _

_"Drew- why-?!" May called after him, trying to catch up to him. Drew stopped and turned to face her, unshed tears making his eyes look like shimmering emeralds. _

_"It was your choice, May," He said simply._

_"My choice? What are you-?" May_ _tried to ask, but then she felt someone grab her wrist._

_"Let's get out of here, May," Joey snarled, shooting Drew a scathing look._

_"B-but-no! Drew!" May cried, tears now falling freely from her own eyes, "Drew!"_

_"It was your choice, May," Drew repeated in a soft voice, turning and walking away. _

_"No, Drew!" May choked, "I n-need you! I-I-I lo-!"_

_End Dream_

May sat up with a gasp, her breath coming in and out in short, uneven gasps. Her heart was throbbing, its beats pounding in her ears. For a moment she was afraid that she had wet the bed like a two year old, but then she realized that she was just covered in ice-cold sweat.

"Wh-what was that about?" She wondered aloud. "Why am I always dreaming about Drew?"

Drew had been featured in her dreams for weeks, but never had she dreamed about she and Drew nearly _kissing_...

May's heart gave a pang at the thought of her kissing Drew. Her face burned as she vividly remembered that dreamlike moment, his hand gently resting on her face, his lips inches from hers...

May shook her head hard. "May, get yourself straight. You're in love with Joey. Now, calm down. That dream didn't mean anything. Relax and get back to bed." She lay back on her pillow, but quickly sat up. It was damp. With a soft gasp, May slowly reached up to her face and wiped her eyes.

Her fingers were wet with the salty moisture of tears.

"Why am I crying?" She whispered.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

It was about one o'clock in the afternoon as Drew sat underneath his usual tree, listening to Scott's iPod and reading _The Coordinator's Guide to the Orange Islands. _After the Johto leage, Drew had been planning on going to the Orange Islands, which would be a pleasant change after the usually chilly weather of the region. However, Drew found that he was paying more attention to the music than the book.

Drew had been surprised to discover that he really liked the songs on here, quite apart from the fact that they all seemed to reflect his heartbreak, but also the fact that the lyrics and rhythms were good. However, there was a downside: after listening to nearly every song on the ipod (he had skipped "Make You Love Me" by Kaci Brown. A/N-that song always makes me cry!) he had memorized a pretty good number of them. In fact, they were staring to get rather old.

He pressed the off button and leaned his head back against the tree. It seemed absolutely incredible that it had been only two days since he had found that May had a boyfriend. It seemed like the days had been stretched out into months, years... Drew was sick of feeling like he was the only person in the world who had no one special, sick of feeling like he would never be whole again, just _sick_...

And, without even knowing he was doing it, Drew closed his eyes and the words came up from somewhere deep inside, from his heart:

_"Gotta fix that calender I have  
That's marked July 15th  
Because since there's no more you  
There's no more 'anniversary'  
I'm so fed up with my thoughts of you  
And your memory  
And how every song reminds me  
Of what used to be _

_That's the reason I'm so sick of love songs  
So tired of tears  
So done with wishing you were still here  
Said I'm so sick of love songs, so sad and slow  
So why can't I turn off the radio?"_

Drew frowned slightly as he thought over what he had sang. "Where did that come from...?"

However, his thoughts were cut off, due to a woman's interruption. "

"Why, would that be the voice of my star coordinator cousin, Drew?"

Drew felt himself smile. "Would that be the voice of my TV show producer cousin, Destiny?"

"Why, yes it would!" The woman replied, coming out from behind the tree. Destiny Maxwell was about twenty five years old, with long leaf-green hair that was tied back into a bun and lavender eyes. She was wearing a purple tank top with a pale green, v-neck shirt over it and long white jeans. She sat next to her cousin with a thoughtful look on her face.

"It's been so long! Last I saw you, you were eleven! How are you?" She asked.

"That's a long story," Drew replied, looking away.

"I took the day off, I'm in a crisis." Destiny told him, "I've got time."

"Why are you in a crisis?" Drew asked, raising an eyebrow.

Destiny sighed. "I'm doomed. Well, at least the show is- You see, my newest show, _Singing Stars, _is going to start shooting tomorrow. We need enough footage for about the first season. Each season will last about seven weeks, so we'll be recording about one episode a day. We need enough people to narrow down five people each show, which means we need thirty-five people, and we only have thirty-two!" Destiny finished with a groan.

"Um... shouldn't you have all of the people you need _before_ the day of the first show?" Drew asked.

"Uh... hehehe..." Destiny said awkwardly, "Well, you see, we, ah, sort of..."

"Left it until the last minute." Drew assumed. He shook his head. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Well, what about you?" Destiny shot back, "I doubt you have ever had the world crash down on top of your head-"

"You'd be surprised," Drew argued back, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He quickly wiped them away. He was getting sick of crying like a little kid whenever he thought of May._ I miss her so much..._

Destiny looked shocked for a moment, but she reached over and gently wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Oh, come on, Drew. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Drew sighed and told her everything; about how he had, years ago, met a young coordinator preparing for her first-ever contest, how he had teased her, how he had, over the years, slowly fell in love with her... And how he had just realized that she had a boyfriend, and that that boyfriend could be planning to hurt her and him, and how, somehow, Drew was supposed to protect her from this mysterious plan.

"Oh, Drew..." Destiny said softly when he was done, "Drew..."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"I'm going to pick up something at the store," Joey told May suddenly, and then he simply walked away before she could respond.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" She called. Joey gave no signal that he heard her, other than wave his hand lazily, as if telling her to leave.

May sighed. "I should go train." She went down the street to the park. As she looked around, he saw Drew sitting under a tree with a girl. The girl's arm was wrapped tightly around his shoulder.

Something struck May: it was as if her blood had been replaced with boiling water, making her thoughts go fuzzy and unclear. She clenched her hands tightly into fists, and a gnawing feeling in her stomach. A lump rose in her throat, making it hard to breathe.

She quickly looked away, breathing deeply to stop herself from doing something that would have been really stupid. May felt extremely embarrassed at that sudden rush of anger, but a tiny part of her felt sad and longing, as if, deep down, May wished she was that girl...

_Oh, well, it was hard for me to fall back to sleep last night, _She thought, putting that idea in the back of her mind. _I'm probably just really tired._

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"I wish I could give you advice, but I can't do anything about this situation for you," Destiny said sadly. "I'd love to, but I can't, I don't have the time, not with-" Destiny suddenly tensed up. Drew looked, and, to his horror, saw the sparkle in her eyes that could only mean one thing.

"Drew! I know what to do! I've got an idea!"

Drew pulled away, looking wary. "Destiny, remember that your last idea sent Dean to the emergency room..."

"Pff," Destiny said skeptically, "I didn't tell your brother to poke the sleeping Scyther with a stick. I just told him I'd pay him twenty dollars if he did."

"It's still your fault. He almost got his arm chopped off. No way am I doing anything you think is a good idea." Drew told her.

"Will you at least hear me out?" Destiny begged, "Actually, I'm going to tell you anyway- well, how about you, May, and the silver haired git come on the show? You're three people, and I need this!"

"How will this help me?" Drew asked, not catching on at all.

"Drew, how will she react when you go up national TV and sing her a love song?" Destiny asked.

"I don't know, but I'm not doing it," Drew said stubbornly, "I can't sing."

"Yes, you can!" Destiny pressed, "I heard you singing earlier, you'll do great! Please, Drew!"

Drew thought for one more minutes, then grumbled, "Fine."

"YAY!! Thank you so much!" Destiny cried, hugging Drew. "I'll go ask her to come on now!"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Now, Squirtle, use bubble beam, then ice beam!" May cried to the small blue turtle.

"Squirtle squirt!" He blew a large array of bubbles out of his mouth, and a moment later, using ice beam, he froze them into small, clear blue orbs that slowly fell to the ground.

"Great job!" May said happily, scooping Squirtle up into her arms for a big hug. She turned around when she heard soft clapping from behind her.

"Excellent," The green-haired woman said, stepping forward, "Really excellent."

May flushed, "Thank you. What's your name?"

"I'm Destiny Maxwell," She replied, "And I'm here to make you an offer."

"Really?" May asked, "What kind of offer?"

"Well, you see, I'm in a bit of a dilemma," Destiny admitted, "I'm a TV producer, and my new show, _Singing Stars, _is supposed to start shooting tomorrow. But we need thirty-five people, and we have only thirty-three. I was coming to ask if you if you wanted to come on the show."

"You want me?" May gasped. "Well, I'm not sure. How long will it take? I mean, I'd love to, but the Grand Festival is coming up in a few weeks, I need to practice."

_This girl is Drew's soulmate, _Destiny thought with a small smile. "We're only shooting seven episodes, and we'll be shooting one each day. This will only take a week. Do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"Oh, that's it?" May said, "Sure, I'd love to come on! Hey, that means there's still one more slot open, right? Do you think my boyfriend can come on?"

"Who's your boyfriend?" Destiny asked.

May opened her mouth to reply, but it was not needed. "May!"

May smiled as Joey came walking up to them. "Who's she?" he pointed at Destiny.

The producer felt anger flicker inside her stomach, but she knew that she had to contain herself. "I'm Destiny Maxwell, a TV producer. May volunteered the two of you to come on the show."

"May! Why did you just say I'd do that without asking me?" Joey burst, rounding on May.

"Squirt squirtle squirt! (Watch it, geezer!) the pokemon snarled from May's arms.

"Shh, shh," May said soothingly to her pokemon. She frowned at Joey, "She needed help, and we don't have anything to do. To be honest, I'm getting sick of wandering aimlessly up and down the boardwalk." (A/N- it's about time you put your foot down, girl!)

"May-!"

"We're doing this, Joey," May said, raising her voice slightly. Then she smiled. "I'm sure you're a great singer, you just don't know it."

Joey snorted. "Honestly, May, sometimes you're a real pain. Who's going to be on this show?" he shot at Destiny.

By now the green-haired woman was trying very hard to not take out her Hitmochan and break Joey into little pieces. Faking a painful smile, she said, "Well, from the Orange Islands is a Gym Leader named Antonio Maleke (A/N- pronounced mal-ee-kay), from Ellicott City is the coordinator Bethany Anderson, from New Arbor town is the coordinator Sabrina Morgans, from La Rousse is Drew Maxwell-"

"We'll do it." Joey said quickly.

May looked at him curiously, wondering why he had such a strange look on his face when he found out that both some girl named Sabrina and Drew were competing.

"Great." Destiny said, turning and walking back to her cousin. Drew looked up hopefully when he saw her.

"Well?"

"She's in the show," Destiny said, sitting down. With a scowl, she added, "And so is that silver haired insert swearword here boyfriend of hers. That jerk!"

"What happened?" Drew asked feverishly, wanting more reasons to despise Joey, though he knew he had more than enough. Maybe this would help him figure out the plan.

"Well, May was probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met, and that was my first time meeting her, and then Joey turned up..." She shook her head. "He was so rude to her, he got angry when he heard that May had volunteered for the show. And then he got all up in my face about who was going. But it was weird," she frowned, "He didn't actually agree to be on the show until ?I told him that you were going to be there. Do you think that's part of the plan? Keeping you around?"

"I'm sure of it." Drew said as a young man came walking up to them.

"Hey, lad!" Scott said cheerfully, "How are- hi."

He had just caught sight of Destiny. As The two adults looked into each others eyes, Drew saw them blush, and could practically hear their hearts pounding as the looked at each other, the chemistry triggering off between them-

_YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!! _Drew thought. "Hello?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry," she stood up, "I'm Destiny Maxwell."

"Scott Edwards," he replied, shaking her hand. "Are you the producer Destiny Maxwell?"

She blushed. "I-I am."

"Really? I'm a huge fan of your shows-"

Drew groaned and said loudly, "Can you not flirt in front of me?"

But for all they listened to him, he might as well have been talking to the tree. Deciding that they would not miss him, Drew stood up and walked back to the pokemon center, his hands dug deep into his pockets. Once inside his room, he released Roselia for the first time in two days.

Roselia jumped out of her pokeball and spun around, allowing rose petals to fly artfully around the room. "Ros ros roselia roselia ros ros selia selia ro- (Hey, hey, hey, how's the brand new happy-)" Roselia's happy chatter suddenly broke off as she noticed something very important missing. "Ros? Rose roselia rose ros selia. (Ah, Drew? Where's May? May's supposed to be here.)"

Drew sighed dejectedly as he sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. "She's with her boyfriend, Joey."

"ROSELIA?? (BOYFRIEND??)" the rose pokemon shouted, waving her roses all over the place, "Roselia ros rose selia roselia! (Drew, you're supposed to be her boyfriend!)"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

Roselia sat next to him. "Ros? Roselia selia rose roselia? (Drew? How are you taking it?)

"Well, to be honest," Drew admitted, "I was about this" -he held up his hand to show his thumb and index finger a centimeter apart- "To telling her how I felt, but then she drags Joey over and tells me that they were together."

Roselia's mouth fell open. "Roselia rose. (That's just cruel.)"

"Thanks. I've got a bis long story for you." Drew explained the events from the last few days to Roselia, who listened with rapt attention. She nodded when he was done.

"Roselia ros roselia roselia rose selia rose. (I'd thought it was strange too. Whenever May was around you, I would feel powerful romance waves coming off her, directed at you. If I concentrate now, I can still feel them. But they're blocked by a manipulation of hormones."

"What does that mean?" Drew asked, for he did not ever understand Roselia's long-winded love readings.

"Roselia rose rose roselia selia. (It means that Joey somehow manipulated May's heart into believing that she loved him. You're right Drew. Whatever Joey is planning, it's directed straight at you and May like a dart at the bullseye.)"

"Wait... Roselia, if you can sense love waves, can you try it on Joey?" Drew asked quickly.

The pokemon shook her head. "Roselia ros ros rose selia selia sel lia. (No, I can't. I have to actually be out of the pokeball, be around that person, to sense their waves."

Drew glanced at the clock. "Well, it's nine o'clock. I have to be at Destiny's studio tomorrow at ten a.m. to get ready. I better get to bed." He returned Roselia to his pokeball and placed it on his bedside table with the others. Drew quickly changed and went to bed, wondering what new surprises tomorrow would bring.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Yes! Tomorrow is when we finally get to all the singing!_

_Next Chapter: Joey plan begins to come into play! Will Drew catch on in time? Will he be able to deal with the competition? And who is that Sabrina girl? _

_Purpleduckies9: Is Sabrina going to be a major character?_

_Amv: She has a fairly large role coming up. Please Review!_


	6. Day One: So Close, So Far Away

_YES!! FINALLY! After all this time, I am finally updating this story! Time for Singing Stars!_

_Also: I'm sorry, everyone, but I've already chosen what everyone is going to sing, so you don't have to ask about that. And I've also re-written the first five chapters, so you should probably read those before you read this. _

_Drew: Amv doesn't own Pokemon._

_Purpleduckies9: Or the songs "When You Look Me In The Eyes" By the Jonas Brothers and "Then I Woke Up" By the Clique Girls-_

_Scorp1029: -Or the songs "Only Fooling Myself" by Kate Voegle and "Far Away" By Nickelback! _

_Amv: I don't own ANYTHING!! T.T_

**Chapter Six:**

**Day One: So Close, So Far Away**

"Roselia rose selia ros roselia? (Are you ready to go, Drew?)" The pokemon asked Drew impatiently the next day, as Drew brushed his hair.

"Almost," Drew replied as he examined himself. Today, he was wearing long blue jeans and a dark purple t-shirt with a black zip-up jacket over it.

Roselia rolled her eyes. "Rose selia roselia ros rose selia ros ros. (Drew, May's already been in love with you for years, you don't have to try and look nice for her.)"

"Shut up," Drew muttered, blushing furiously. "Let's go."

Drew left, Roselia walking beside him, as always. They had decided that, if they should happen to run into May and Joey, Roselia would try and read the silver-haired boy's 'love waves'. However, on the ten minute walk to Maxwell Studios, they didn't see one trace of the couple.

"Well, here we go," Drew said to Roselia as he entered through the back door. There was a large stage positioned in the front of a huge sea of chairs for an audience. In the very front of the stage was a table with three chairs, facing the stage. There was a small space on both sides of the judges' table, where the singers would gather while watching the others taking their turns to sing.

Drew saw Destiny gathered with a group of about six people, all of whom carrying clipboards. Figuring that Destiny was pretty busy, Drew sat down in one of the seats in the second row.

"Ros... (oh...)" Roselia moaned, looking pale.

"What's wrong, Roselia?" Drew asked anxiously as Roselia swayed.

"Ros roselia ros rose rose. (There's too many vibes in the air, I can't concentrate.)"

"You don't look good, Roselia," Drew said, taking out his pokeball. "Come back in here, I'll be fine."

"Rose. (Thanks.)" Roselia smiled, and gratefully returned to his pokeball as Destiny stepped onstage.

"Everyone, could you all please start making your way to some seats? I'll be explaining everything to you in about fine minutes' time." She said. There was an increase in the number of noise in the room as people sat down and began introducing themselves.

Drew looked around the room, examining the other contestants in Destiny's game show and searching for May and Joey. Sitting on his left side was a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and on his right was a boy who appeared to be Drew's age. He was almost as attractive as Drew, with caramel-colored skin, curly black hair and liquid brown eyes. He was wearing a dark blue Aeropostale (sp?) shirt and baggy black jeans.

"Hola," He said to Drew. There was a Spanish purr in the tone of his voice. Drew figured he was Latino.

"Hey," He said glumly, finally catching sight of May, sitting a row ahead of him and three seats to the left. For a moment he wondered how he had not noticed her earlier, but once again, she hardly looked like herself. May was wearing a pale pink tank top with a short black vest over top of it, and long dark jeans with a chain belt hanging loosely around her waist.

The boy followed his gaze. "Ah," He said sadly when he saw May. "You like that girl, don't you?"

Drew stared. "How did you know that? Is it that obvious?"

"Si. Very obvious." He chuckled. "Her boyfriend doesn't look very nice, though. Seems to be hardly talking."

Drew looked over at them again. "He doesn't talk much."

"He looks like my sister's old boyfriend," The boy observed, frowning slightly. "I got a bad feeling about him."

"Ditto." Drew said, resting his chin in his palm.

"Personally," He said. "I think that that girl over there would be better with him." he nodded over to a girl sitting off in a corner, moodily staring at something. Drew followed her gaze... and was lead back to May.

_Is she looking at May? _Drew wondered, looking from one girl to the other. At one point, May suddenly stopped talking, and looked down at her lap. Gritting his teeth slightly, Drew glanced back at the mystery girl. Was she now looking at May with... a condescending smirk?

Drew narrowed his eyes. "Why's she smiling like that?" he murmured.

"It is weird. As if she knows what's going on over there," The boy pointed at May and Joey.

Drew stared at him again. "How can you tell?"

"A few reasons," The boy replied. "First of all, I'm the oldest of six brothers and I have to keep my eyes on all of them; second, I'm a gym leader, so I need to have sharp eyes; three, my best friend and I both like these two best friends, so we learned to decode body language. I'm also naturally smart."

"You're weird," Drew said.

He grinned and held out his hand. "I'm Antonio."

"Drew." He shook his hand and looked back at the stage as Destiny came onstage.

"Now, now, everyone!" She called. Slowly, the chatter in the room died down as they gave her their attention. "I'm here to tell you how this will go down. You see, every morning, at ten, you will meet here to get your new assignments. You will receive your music and lyrics, and at six o'clock that night, we'll all return here for our recording and the show. You'll get your results from the judges, and the people with the five lowest scores will be sent home. Now, we're going to be starting taping the first show tonight, so you might want to come up and get your music. Your name will be on a sheet of paper, as will the song you are singing. Each day will have different themes of songs you will sing. Today, since there are so many people, you'll all be singing shortened versions of the song we chose for you today. After this, you'll get to choose your songs, as long as you keep them within the expected guidelines. Any questions?"

"What are the guidelines?" Joey called out. Destiny rolled her eyes.

"That should be obvious. No excess of obscenities, no adulterated themes, and the song has to fall under the category of the given challenge." Destiny snapped. "Now, if no one else has any stupid questions, come on up."

Drew and Antonio exchanged looks of alarm. "She scares me," The latter said.

"Well, that's my cousin," Drew said. Antonio laughed as they all stepped onstage. There was a long table, on which there were a long row of differently colored folders. No two were alike, though on every one of them there was the same emblem: two black S's on top of a golden star, more golden musical notes surrounding them.

"That's manly." Drew muttered. A smack on the back of his head told him that Destiny had heard his comment. Rubbing the back of his head irritably, he said, "C'mon, let's go find our folders."

He searched through the stacks of files, but, though he found Antonio's dark purple ("Ugh... I can feel my masculinity draining away...") folder, Drew's was no where to be found.

"Oh, no, this stinks..." Drew was saying as he looked again. He looked up when he heard a small laugh. He looked up to see the girl who had been staring at May and Joey earlier. Now that she was closer, Drew saw that she had long, stringy blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was wearing a tiny little t-shirt and an extremely short miniskirt.

"Looking for this?" She asked, holding up an emerald green folder. The word's "**Drew Maxwell**" were written in the top right corner.

"Yeah." Drew said simply, tugging it from her grasp. "Thanks."

He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his shoulder. "I'm Sabrina Morgans." She told him, fluttering her eyelashes, which were clumped together with mascara.

"Good for you." Drew said shortly. He was not, _not, _NOT in the mood for an over-flirty fan girl. "Later." He tugged his arm from her grasp as he stepped outside with Antonio.

"Did she put her eye makeup on in the dark?" Antonio wondered.

"To be completely honest, I couldn't care less," Drew replied, finally stopping in the park. "Well, let's see what we're singing,"

Antonio pulled the folder open and got a look of disgust on his face. "I've got 'When You Look Me In The Eyes' by the Jonas Brothers!"

A snigger from behind them told them that Jack and Bethany were approaching. Antonio laughed in spite of himself at his outrageous misfortune. "Well, what are you singing?"

"I'm not, but she is." Jack explained, wrapping an arm around Bethany's shoulders.

"Really? What are you singing?" Antonio asked.

Bethany frowned. "'Then I Woke Up' by The Clique Girls."

Drew and Antonio exploded into laughter as Bethany went red. "YOU WANNA TELL ME WHAT'S SO FUNNY, YA IMMATURE BUNCH OF SISSIES??"

The other two sobered up at once and looked terrified. "Um, I have..." Drew opened the file. "...'Far Away' by Nickelback."

"Of course, you get the good song!" Antonio cried, punching Drew on the arm.

"To tell the truth, I never really cared for Nickelback," Drew admitted.

"Actually," Bethany said, quite calmly compared to her sudden outburst, "This could be a sort of test. We're all doing songs we don't like, right? Maybe they're trying to see how dedicated to doing this competition we are. I think we should all just suck it up, deal with it, and do the songs as well as we can."

"Well said," Jack told her, leaning down and gently kissing her on the cheek. As Bethany blushed, Antonio asked, "Hey... Do I even know your names yet?"

"Huh? Oh!" Bethany blushed, a slightly dreamy look on her face. "I'm Bethany Anderson."

"I'm Jack Smith." The blond said.

"Antonio Maleke." Antonio replied, shaking both of their hands.

"I'm going back to my room to practice," Drew said, waving and turning around to leave. He did not want to be around any romance right now. He had just suspected something; he knew the song "Far Away." Had Destiny picked out that song for Drew to sing to-?

Drew never finished his imagined sentence (A/N- I don't know what that means, either). A sudden gust of wind from the sea blew down the street, and, as he heard a rustling of papers skimming across the sidewalk, and a cry of, "Oh, no!"

Drew turned to see May and Joey on the other side of the street. May's grip on her folder had been slack, and the folder had fallen open and its contents were scattered on the ground. She quickly dropped to her knees to pick them up, asking, "Could you help me with this, Joey?"

"What do I look like, your servant?" Joey scoffed, as he continued down the street.

"Ugh..." May mumbled. "I bet now I'll lose them..."

"Here, I'll help," Drew said as he came over. May looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"Oh, Drew, you don't have to do that."

"It's no problem," Drew replied as he dropped down to his knees with her. "Actually, it looks like you've gotten most of them."

"Except that one," May and Drew reached for a slip of paper a few feet away. They got it at the same time, and Drew's hand accidentally covered May's. They looked directly into each others eyes, and for a moment, everything seemed right again. Both May and Drew felt shivers crawl up and down their arms, and their hearts leap up into the sky and dance together. However, Drew quickly remembered that she didn't like him, and that she had a boyfriend.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, taking his hand away from hers and looking down at the ground a foot in front of him, allowing his green hair to fall in front of his eyes.

"It's alright," May said, equally embarrassed as she put the papers back in her folder in whatever order.

Drew and May stood up and started walking back to the pokemon center together, Joey having left May behind.

"So, Drew..." May said awkwardly. "What are you doing tonight?"

"W-what?" Drew asked, blushing. _Oh my God, is she asking me out?_

"Oh! Sorry." May blushed even harder than Drew. "What I meant was, 'what are you singing tonight?'"

_DARN IT!!_"'Far Away,' by Nickelback." Drew answered, "What are you singing?"

"'Only Fooling Myself,' by Kate Voegle." May said.

"Really? That song's good." Drew nodded slightly in approval.

May looked at him considerately. "Do you really? Joey said that it was an awful song."

"Did he now?" It was hard to keep the contempt out of his voice as he asked, "What's he singing?"

May laughed. "He's so mad. He's singing, 'Because You Live,' by Jesse McCartney. He said that it was a 'stupid little kid song' and that he 'wouldn't sing it if it was a choice between that and getting eaten by a charizard'." then she frowned slightly. "I told him not to, but he went up and said that to the Producer, Destiny."

Drew clenched his fists. _He better not talk to my family or my friends like that when I'm around, or he'll be sorry. _"What did Destiny say?"

"She said, 'You better sing it unless you want to get disqualified and if you ever talk to me like that again, I promise you'll be beaten by my Hitmochan, and I assure you I've trained her well.'" May laughed again.

Drew sniggered. _Serve him right._ _Well, Destiny always was able to look out for herself pretty well. _

When they reached the pokemon center, May turned to Drew. "Thanks for helping me, Drew. That was the first time I've laughed in a while."

"Wha-?" Drew blushed hard as May stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick one-armed hug around his neck. She quickly released him, blushing herself.

"Well, I'll see you tonight! Gotta go practice!" she skipped away, Drew watching as her hair danced behind her. He grinned and ran a hand through his hair and wet up to his room. He sat on his bed and opened the folder.

"Well, it's already noon," He observed on the clock. "And I have to get ready and everything. Better start practicing."

Drew took out the sheet of music, its notes written in black and white across the page. It was good his mother had bullied him into taking piano for a few years, or Drew knew he wouldn't have been able to read anything. He hummed to the rhythm for a few moments, and then started to sing,

_"This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long, Too late  
Who was I to make you wait..."_

Drew continued singing the song, and found that the shortened version of this song had taken out both the second verse and the second chorus. In the end, he found that he felt a lot calmer than he had in three days. He was also blushing, for he knew that Destiny had chosen that song for him to sing for May.

"I can't believe she's making me sing this," He mumbled as he went back to the beginning to start again.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Drew!" A voice from behind called. Drew turned to see Jack, Bethany, and Antonio running toward him. He smiled slightly at the sight of his new friends.

"Are you ready to go up?" Antonio asked. You could tell that he had recently showered, for his hair was still damp.

Drew nodded. "Are you two?"

"Yeah," Antonio said.

Bethany grinned and punched her fist into the air. "I was born ready!" They all laughed.

When they arrived at the studio, they were not surprised to see that there were camera men and graphic designers running all over the set, trying to get things organized. Drew saw Destiny talking with about a dozen people surrounding her. She appeared to be so stressed about recording the first episode of her show that she was close to tears.

Jack, who was on the lanky side, stood up taller and checked to see over the heads of the crowd, and saw a sheet of paper posted backstage. "I think I see the list of what order you're all supposed to go in."

"Then let's check it out." Antonio said, and he lead the way through the crowd to the paper. It was indeed a list of the order of their performances; First up was a girl named Suzuka Asahina, and last was a boy name Negi Springfield. Bethany was going third, Antonio twelfth, May sixteenth, and Drew seventeenth.

"C'mon, let's get some seats together," Bethany said, turning and weaving agilely through the crowd. The boys follwed her awkwardly. They soon found Bethany sitting in the third row. She looked up and asked, "What took you so long?"

"Not. Funny." Jack said as he sat next to her. Bethany snickered, and Destiny then stepped onstage and said into her microphone, "Alright, everyone, it's time to get to some seats. Do you all know when you're going up? Just so you all know, I recommend getting onstage about two songs before you go on. So if you're in the first three, I suggest you all come up now. That's all the help you're getting with that, you need to do this for yourself."

"Well, that's my cue," Bethany said, getting up and walking onto the stage.

"So..." Antonio said, turning to Jack. "I've been wanting to ask you all day, but I decided to wait until she wasn't around... are you two dating?"

Jack blushed. "Uh... yeah. We used to be best friends -we still are- but a few days ago we decided to try the next step. But, enough about me. Do you have someone special back on the Orange Islands?"

Antonio grinned, though a faint line of color stained his cheekbones. "Yeah. Her name is Catherine Ricks, but everyone calls her Cat. The problem is, she seems to hate me."

"Maybe she just really likes you," Jack laughed as Destiny came back onstage and signaled for quiet.

"Now, it's time to do this! Is everyone ready?" A loud yell rose up from the crowd, surprising from only about thirty people. Destiny smiled. "It's time for the show to start. Now, here from Aoba High, how about a big warm welcome for Suzuka Asahina?!"

The crowd screamed as the black haired girl came onstage. She was very shy, and she quickly sang the song "Shine" by Aly&Aj in a quiet voice, barely audible over the music.

The next singer, Momo Adachi, sang "Old Blue Jeans" by Hannah Montana, and then it was Bethany's turn. Jack grinned widely as she came running out onto the stage, her quirky smile lighting up the entire room. Jack loved Bethany's smile; her lips hardly pulled up on the right side, but the left side seemed to reach her ear. Her peppy mood matched the drumbeat. She then opened her mouth and sang:

_"I get into the car  
Turn the radio up real far  
To shut out the noise  
So I can hear my voice_

_There's a party on down the street  
But nobody invited me and I got a gig  
Babysitting my uncle's kids  
Why me? I just wanna see..._

_Don't you know that I'm a hip hop queen  
A rock and roll dream it's all bling bling  
I'm the star on the scene  
Yeah, check me out see what I'm all about  
I'm the one that you want- the one you can't have  
The girl that you call who doesn't ever call back  
Just look at me I've got everything  
But then I woke up_

_But then I woke up  
I'm like living in a dream (I'm like living in a dream)  
It's everything it's supposed to be (Supposed to be)  
It's a holiday for me  
It's all just kickin in  
And this is where I begin  
Just being me  
It's okay to be me_

_But it's gonna to be a a hip hop queen  
A rock and roll dream it's all bling bling  
Yeah, baby ka-ching  
Come check me out  
You know I'm bringin down the house  
I'm the one that you want you now I'm heaven sent  
I'm a little skater boy and a little 50 Cent  
Just look at me I've got everything_

_I'm a hip hop queen  
I'm a rock and roll dream_

_Then I woke up  
I woke up  
It's like living in a dream  
(I'm like living a dream)  
It's everything it's supposed to be..."_

The crowd went wild as Bethany punched her fist into the air, her heart pounding as they all shouted her name. Over it all, she saw Jack standing up, his hands cupped around his mouth, shouting, "Yeah, Bethany!"

She wished the next girl, Hiyono Yuzaki, luck, and rushed down the stairs to see that Jack had gotten out of his seat to go meet her.

"That was incredible!" he said as he hugged her tightly.

"Aw, thanks," She replied, blushing. She pulled away and mussed up his hair, and grabbed his hand and ran off to their row.

Twenty minutes later, Antonio stood up and went backstage to get ready. He stepped into the spotlight as Destiny said, "And here, all the way from the Orange Islands, here's the Flouroma Town Gym Leader, Antonio Maleke, singing the popular Jonas Brothers song "When You Look Me in the Eyes!'"

Antonio smiled as he raised the microphone to his mouth, listening to the music start up. In his hours of practicing, he had grown fond of the song, for it reminded him of his feelings for Catherine.

_"If the heart is always searching,  
Can you ever find a home?  
I've been looking for that someone,  
I'll never make it on my own.  
Dreams can't take the place of loving you,  
There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true_

_When you look me in the eyes,  
And tell me that you love me.  
Everything's alright,  
When you're right here by my side.  
When you look me in the eyes,  
I catch a glimpse of heaven.  
I find my paradise,  
When you look me in the eyes._

_More and more, I start to realize,  
I can reach my tomorrow,  
I can hold my head high,  
And it's all because you're by my side._

_When you look me in the eyes,  
And tell me that you love me.  
Everything's alright,  
When you're right here by my side.  
When I hold you in my arms  
I know that it's forever  
I just gotta let you know  
I never wanna let you go_

_Cause when you look me in the eyes._

_And tell me that you love me.  
Everything's alright,  
When you're right here by my side.  
When you look me in the eyes,  
I catch a glimpse of heaven.  
I find my paradise,  
When you look me in the eyes._

_Oh, yeah..."_

The audience was shouting his name the way they had for Bethany, but several girls were also screaming, "Oh-em-gee, he's so cute!"

Antonio suppressed the urge to roll his eyes with extreme difficulty, as he was often treated like this back home. He handed the mike off the the next singer, a girl named Tohru Honda who was going to sing Avril Levine's "Things I'll Never Say."

"Nice job, Antonio," Drew said as he sat down.

Antonio smiled. His voice shook slightly as he said, "Thanks, amigo."

A few performances later, Joey went up to sing his song, but we don't like him, so let's not waste our time on him. All I'll say is that he did better than we all wanted him to.

Finally, it was two songs until Drew's turn. He went backstage and accidentally ran into May.

"Oh, hi, May." he smiled at her, feeling his stomach perform the usual somersault it did whenever he saw May.

She smiled. "Hi Drew! Are you ready?"

Drew laughed. "Ready as I'll ever be."

May smiled at him. Then, as Yuki Sohma went by her, she said, "It's my turn! Wish me luck!"

"Luck," Drew said simply as she ran out onstage. He leaned against the wall as May took the microphone in her hands and the soft beginning piano music started up. A moment later, May started:

_"I stop to catch my breath - And I stop to catch your eye  
No need to second-guess - That you've been on my mind  
I dream days away, but that's okay -  
It's like I want to hear a silent sound - And then hold it in my hand  
But a rose won't blossom from a ground - Of desert sand, but I like to pretend that-_

_One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out  
I'm only fooling myself, oh, - But maybe when you smile  
It means you'd stay awhile - Just maybe you'd save me now..."_

Drew's mouth was hanging open slightly. As if there wasn't anything more May could attract him with, it turned she had by far the best voice he had heard that night. The spotlight radiated off her face and made her seem so beautiful that Drew wondered if he was actually dreaming. He pinched his arm, unknown to him that that was where he had dug his fingernail. It hurt like heck, which Drew took as a no, he wasn't dreaming.

_"It's love in disguise - I'm lost in your eyes - I'm lost in your eyes_

_One day I'll turn around - I'll see your hand reach out  
I'm only fooling myself, oh, - But maybe when you smile  
It means you'd stay awhile - Just maybe you'd save me now - Save me now  
Just maybe you'd save me now..."_

May blew a kiss to the crowd as she stepped off stage.

"Nice job, May," Drew said with a smile as she went by him.

"Hmm?" May asked, momentarily mesmerized by his sparkling emerald eyes. "Oh, uh, thanks. Good luck up there."

"I'll need it," Drew told her. May was still giggling as he went out onstage and took the microphone. For a moment, the room was quiet, but then the acoustic guitar began playing, and Drew opened his mouth and began:

_"This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long, Too late  
Who was I to make you wait?  
Just one chance,  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know..."  
_

May was shocked. Drew's voice was amazing, seeming to come straight from his heart. It was a thousand times better that Joey's thin one. She shook her head. Joey was her boyfriend, not Drew. Drew couldn't compare to Joey, anyway.

_"That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore..."_

But something about the way Drew sang... seemed to be hypnotic. She smiled as a slightly dreamy look came over her face, and she sighed and rested her cheek in her hand.

_"So far away...  
Been far away for far too long  
So far away...  
Been far away for far too long  
But you know, you know, you know_

_I wanted  
I wanted you to stay  
'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I forgive you  
For being away for far too long  
So keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go..."_

Drew finished as the crowd went crazy, sounding more like a hundred people were there, rather than only thirty-five. Then again, the stage crew were applauding too. He sighed, feeling that at least he wasn't too awful. That wasn't very reassuring; however, he then caught sight of May in the crowd. She wasn't cheering for him, but the dreamy, far away look on her face was enough to give him a small spring in his step as he exited the stage.

_Well, at least something went right today._

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

Drew stepped lightly down the street, still replaying that night in his head. The audience on its feet, cheering for him... hearing that he, May, Antonio, and Bethany were the show's top five scorers... seeing May's face as he finished the song, that sweet smile...

And speaking of May...

"Hey, May!" He called, jogging to catch up. "Great job tonight."

"Thanks, Drew," May replied, smiling at him. "You were great!"

"You too," Drew said. He looked around and frowned a bit. "Where's Joey?"

May's smile faltered. "Well, I-I don't really know. I think he went ahead. He seemed kind of grumpy today."

"Well, I'll walk with you," The words fell out of Drew's mouth before he could stop them.

May's eyes widened, but Drew thought she might have been blushing as she said, "W-why?"

Drew shrugged. "Well, we're both going to the Pokemon Center. Unless you don't want me to come with you..."

He was feeling more stupid by the word.

But May smiled. "That would be nice, not walking alone. Thanks a lot, Drew."

Drew smiled back, and pulled a beautiful crimson rose out of his pocket. "Here, May. For a job well done."

May accepted it, her fingers gently brushing against his. Drew sighed. If only May didn't already have a boyfriend, this would have been the perfect moment...

"Well, you've got some nerve." Joey's voice said. Drew turned to see him a few feet behind him, his arms crossed across his chest. He walked past May and took the rose from her hand and threw it to the ground.

"Joey!" May protested. But the silver haired boy ignored her.

"Gosh, Drew. Don't give _my _girlfriend roses. Especially after totally flirting with Sabrina Morgans." Joey snarled.

It took a few moments for that statement to sink in. "Sabrina Morgans?" He repeated, completely lost. "Who's she?"

"Don't play dumb," Joey said. "That blonde girl, blue eyes, tiny skirt?"

"Really bad eye makeup?" Drew asked, racking his brains. "Oh yeah... that one weird fan girl?"

"Thanks for catching on so quickly, Drew," Joey said sarcastically. "Yes, that fan girl you were _flirting _with earlier."

Drew opened his mouth several times, as if he was trying to talk but had lost his voice. In truth, this insane statement was so ridiculous that Drew couldn't speak. Joey smirked, looking pleased with himself, and spun around and walked off. May looked at Drew carefully.

"What's he talking about?" she asked, cocking her head to the side slightly. Drew shrugged.

"To be honest, I have no idea."

May looked at him one more time, then reached down and hesitantly picked up the rose. She gave a small wave, and ran off to catch up to Joey, vanishing into the night.

And, though Drew still didn't understand completely, a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that Joey's plan was just getting ready to roll.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: OMG, that took ALL DAY to write. So you BETTER REVIEW!!_

_Also, Since I just used so many characters in other animes, let me just say something quickly:_

_Couples I Support in Suzuka:  
SuzukaxYamato_

_Couples I Support in Negima:  
NegixAsuna_

_Couples I Supprt in Fruits Basket:  
TohruxYuki  
KyoxAnsa (Uo-chan)_

_Couples I Support in Spiral:  
AyumuxHiyono_

_Couples I Support in Peach Girl:  
MomoxKairi (Seriously, Toji. Either stick with Momo through everything or go out with Sae, but stop going between the two)_

_So, if any of you know any authors that write for those shows and those couples, could you tell me? And please make sure there's NO LEMONS! You're the best!_

**_REVIEW OR I WILL HIT YOU WITH MY MALLET OF DOOM!! _**


	7. Day Two: Get a Clue and a Scret, Too

_Amv: This chapter is probably going to really stink, because I'm trying to work through writers' block. So I hope I don't disappoint you._

_Drew: Amv4eva doesn't own the songs "Get a Clue" by Simon & Milo or the song "Reflection" by Christina Aguilera or "Part of You World" by Disney-_

_Antonio: She doesn't own the songs "This is Me" by Skye Sweetnam or "Go the Distance" by Lucas Grabeel, either!_

_Jack: And she certainly doesn't own pokemon._

_Amv: T.T I hope you enjoy the chapter._

**Chapter Seven:**

**Day Two: Get a Clue and a Secret, Too**

Drew frowned up at the ceiling, his arms crossed under his head creating a sort of pillow. The dim gray light of dawn shone through his window, illuminating the floor with pale strips of light from the shade's blinds. It was about six o'clock in the morning, and Drew had given up falling back to sleep an hour ago. Since then, he had been thinking about the singing competition.

To put everything technically, the top five places had been Drew with 29.7, followed by May with 28.3; in third place was Antonio with a 25.8, very closely above Bethany's 25.6; in fifth was (surprisingly) Joey, with a 24.7.

_Why couldn't he have just been sent home? _Drew wondered bitterly.

After a while, Drew sat up and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels, watching a bit of a show about a child genius, then a clip of a show where a girl goes to live with her new step dad's family and her new step brother tortures her. He was about to flick past MTV, but a video they were showing totally caught him off guard.

_"__Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know..."_

"HOLY RATATTA, WHAT AM I DOING ON MTV??" Drew shouted. He reached for his cell phone, which was resting on the bedside table. In a moment, he had dialed Destiny's phone number and was pressing the phone to his cheek, muttering, "Oh, you better pick this up, come on..."

"Hello?"

"Hi, Destiny." Drew said angrily. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure, let it rip!" Destiny replied perkily.

"_Why on earth is there a clip of me singing on MTV?!" _Drew burst, "You told us that you were going to just be recording the episodes!"

"Yeah, well, we decided to change that at the last second. MTV gave us quite a good price for it. The shows already getting great ratings, and last night, over two million people tuned in to watch the first episode!" Destiny sounded as though all of her dreams had come true at once.

"Don't you think you could have told us?" Drew asked irritably.

"Nah," Destiny said, "Did you see Suzuka Asahina up there? She was so scared, and that's just because it was a recording. If she'd known that it was live she'd've fainted right then and there onstage."

"You do realize that everyone's gonna be pretty ticked off at you, right?" Drew was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Ah... I didn't think of that..."

_Figures, _Drew thought, rolling his eyes. "Well, good luck."

Drew snapped the phone shut, but a moment later, it rang again. Drew quickly flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Hola, amigo," said Antonio's voice. "You watching MTV?"

"Yeah," Drew turned his attention to the screen. "I can't believe they couldn't bother telling us that this was live."

"Yeah, Brick's already made fun of me into oblivion about the Jonas Brothers song."

"Who's Brick?"

"Brick Lars, my best friend back home. He's the guy who likes Michelle Reinolds, Cat's best friend. But beside that... did you see what they said about you?"

"What?" Drew asked nervously.

"They're saying that, even though it's only the first week, you have a really good chance of winning this competition." Antonio told him.

Drew groaned. "Excellent. Just what I need. More publicity."

"Ditto here," Antonio sighed. "Well, it's seven thirty, I better get ready."

As he hung up, Drew thought, _What, you need two hours to shower?_

"I might as well get ready too." Drew said to himself, and he went to the bathroom and quickly showered. Today he put on a red-orange polo shirt and long, faded blue jeans. After molding his hair into its usual style, he grabbed his pokeballs and exited the pokemon center, thinking to visit Jack and Bethany at their coffee shop.

However, the second he got out of the pokemon center, he heard a familiar, though unpleasant sound.

"AAAAAAAAHH!! DREW!!"

And a moment later, Drew was swallowed by an entire crowd of fangirls, all of whom were screaming their own comments so loud that they drowned out the others voices. Drew fought to break free, but every time he was nearly out, he was dragged back in.

"Hey! I heard that... um... that cute guy from that band was down at the other end of the boardwalk!" called a voice. For a moment all was quiet, but then the girls screamed "OH-EM-GEE!" and ran off in a cloud of dust. Drew sweatdropped.

"Thanks," he said, turning to the girl.

"Glad to help," May replied. "I saw you on MTV this morning."

"You and the rest of the world," he grumbled. May sighed. Today she was wearing a dark denim skirt with black leggings going down to her calf, and a black t-shirt patterned with silver stars and a dark pink jacket.

"You all right?" Drew asked, concern clouding over his eyes.

May looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm... I'm fine. It's just...I'm tired. You know, after last night."

"Oh. Yeah." Drew scuffled the pavement with the toe of his shoe. "So, what do you think we're going to have to sing today?"

May shrugged. "I don't know. Thee are so many genres of music and everything, I guess we'll have to be on our toes."

"Good point," Drew agreed, nodding. "Well, I'm going to get breakfast. I'll see you later, 'kay?"

"Sure..." May said softly. Drew smiled at her quickly, but a moment later it vanished as he caught sight of something over her shoulder. He looked away, allowing his green hair to fall in front of his eyes.

He waved halfheartedly as he turned around, murmuring "See you." as he did.

"May!" Joey said as he came over to her, smiling happily. (A/N- Oh no! What's wrong with Joey?)

"Hm? Oh, hi Joey!" May replied as she smiled at him. "Are you ready to go to breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Joey said heartily, taking May's hand as he lead the way down the boardwalk, the opposite direction of where Drew went. May walked behind him, allowing him to drag her along.

After about five minutes, Joey stopped and slowed down so she could catch up with him. "What's wrong, May?"

May sighed. "I'm just tired... And I'm kind of worried."

"What about?" Joey asked, frowning slightly.

"Well..." May admitted. "Don't get mad or anything, but Drew's been acting kind of weird for the past few days. Like, he hasn't been practicing for the Grand Festival at all, and he looks as if he hasn't had a decent night's sleep in a couple days."

Joey suppressed rolling his eyes with difficulty. "Who knows? He's kind of anti-social. He doesn't hang out with people much. He's kind of cocky, too. Maybe he's just afraid of embarrassing himself on TV."

May sighed. "You're probably right."

Joey smirked slightly. _So, so naive..._

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Drew!" Jack called when the green-haired boy entered the studio. Bethany and Antonio waved him over to the same spot they had sat at last night.

"Can you believe they didn't tell us that that was live?" Bethany asked Drew as soon as he had taken his seat between her and Antonio.

"I already argued with my cousin about that," Drew said with a sigh.

"What? The producer is your cousin? Destiny Maxwell?" Jack asked. Drew nodded.

"Now, now!" Destiny said into her microphone onstage. The folders were set up behind her, as were what looked like thousands of papers. "These are your music and lyrics for your assignment tonight," She explained, pointing to the massive pile that had been attracting most of the competitors attention. "Today's challenge will be for you to all sing a song from a movie. It could be any movie you like- Beauty and the Beast, Ice Princess, A Cinderella Story... any song you want to sing is probably on this table. Now all of you, come up here and pick your lyrics."

Bethany, Jack, Antonio, and Drew went onstage, to the long table on which what looked like a hundred trees had supplied the paper. Bethany immediately went looking through the stack, whereas Drew and Antonio held back, looking wary.

"If you don't hurry up, the good songs will be gone," Bethany told them. To Jack she said, "I think I'll do this one."

Jack nodded. "Good choice. It really describes you."

"What did you choose?" Antonio asked as he moved toward the table.

Bethany smirked. "I'll only tell you when you pick your songs!"

Drew and Antonio exchanged glances. "Let's just close our eyes and grab the first thing our hands touch."

Drew sighed. "Oh, fine."

The two boys closed their eyes, and, with looks as if prepared for the worst, dove their hands in. A moment later they pulled free, both clutching a packet stapled together. Jack started laughing at their scared faces.

"So, what did you pick?" Bethany asked, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Um..." Drew grit his teeth and looked at it. He looked a little relieved. "'Get a Clue' by Simon and Milo."

Bethany nodded and turned to Antonio. "And you?"

Antonio looked nauseous. "It's... it's... 'Go the Distance' by Lucas Grabeel."

Drew, Bethany, and Jack exploded into laughter, Drew gripping the table to keep himself standing. Jack and Bethany had collapsed, Bethany's head resting on Jack's shoulder.

"What's so funny?" May asked as she came over, followed by a very put-out Joey.

"I'm singing 'Go the Distance' by Lucas Grabeel," Antonio groaned.

"I'll swap with you." Joey said hallowly, holding up his silvery-gray folder.

"Why? What are you singing?" Drew asked, trying to control himself. Joey glared at him, then said:

"'Part of Your World'. The original version. From _The Little Mermaid."_

They were all quiet for a moment, but then everyone erupted laughing again.

"S-So? What are you singing?!" Joey shouted.

"'G-Get a..." laughter "C-clue..." more laughter "By Simon and Milo." Was all Drew could choke out through peals of laughter.

"'This is Me' by Skye Sweetnam." Bethany told her, standing back up and wiping tears from her eyes. "You?"

"'Reflection' by Christina Aguilera. You know, from _Mulan." _May said.

"Really? Cool!" Bethany smiled. "Hey, do you and your boyfriend want to practice with us this afternoon?"

"Sure!" May cried. "Let's go!" She grabbed Joey's hand and held her crimson folder in her other hand and went to the door. Joey turned back and smirked at Drew, who felt his stomach curl up in jealousy. Bethany and Jack followed him, also hand in hand, Bethany's dark blue folder tucked under her arm.

"Did you see that?" Antonio murmured to Drew as they ran after them.

"Kind of hard to miss," Drew replied dryly.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"The sun's in my eyes," Joey complained twenty minutes later as they sat in a circle in the sun. Next to him was May, then Bethany, and Jack, who was beside Drew, and then Antonio, and back to Joey.

"Yeah, yeah," Bethany muttered. "So, who wants to go first?"

At first, no one raised their hand, but then May slowly put hers in the air. "I guess I can take one for the team."

"We are indebted to you," Drew said gallantly. Everyone laughed, except Joey of course.

May took her papers out, and her sapphire eyes scanned the page. Slowly, she started:

_"Look at me  
You may think you see  
Who I really am  
But you'll never know me  
Every day, is as if I play apart  
Now I see  
If I wear a mask  
I can fool the world  
But I can not fool  
My heart..."  
_

When May was finished, Bethany said, "Oh, May, that was so cute!"

"Nice." Drew said, smiling at her. May smiled back, momentarily lost in his eyes. Joey, noticing this, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said, "Great job." into her ear.

Jack and Antonio exchanged looks that said the same thing: _What's up with this guy?_

"I'll go now," Bethany said quickly. She had noticed the expression on Jack's face, and it never boded well. After all, it was like the one he had had when he argued with Joey a few days ago. Knowing that he would fill her in later, she flipped open the folder and started:

_"Everyone has got a secret side  
A winding path up to  
A door that's open wide  
I think you know me  
But I'm changing all the time..."_

She sang for another two minutes, and when she was done, there was an outbreak of applause in the group. Bethany blushed as Jack kissed her lightly on the cheek, brushing the blond strands that escaped her braids back behind her ear.

"Mind if I go?" Antonio asked.

"Be our guest," May said happily. Joey's arm was still wrapped around her shoulders. Drew was avoiding looking at the couple as much as possible; every time he did he had the urge to kick something.

Antonio sighed, took a deep breath, and began:

_"I have often dreamed  
Of a far-off place  
Where a hero's welcome  
Will be waiting for me  
Where the crowds will cheer  
When they see my face  
And a voice keeps saying  
This is where I'm meant to be..."_

When he was done, like Bethany, everyone in the group clapped, and Antonio bowed playfully. He turned to Joey with an evil smile on his face. "Now it's _your_ turn."

Joey pulled away from May, frowning. "Do I have to?"

"Eventually." Jack said, unexpected venom in his voice.

Joey sighed. "Might as well get it over with...

_"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat,  
Wouldn't you think my collections complete?  
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything.  
Look at this trove treasures untold, how many wonders can one cavern hold?"_

When he finished, he received only a halfhearted applause, as everyone in the group was snickering at his misfortune.

"How did you get stuck with that?" Jack asked.

"I picked up the first thing I saw." Joey growled. "Alright, _Drew_, your turn."

Drew glared right back at him. "Sure, _Joey."_

He quickly looked it over. _Oh crud, this song is so fast. Oh well, I'll just have to try not to trip all over myself. As if I need something else for Joey to insult me for. Well, here we go..._

_"I got a little hunch that there is something goin on now  
The clothes I bought, the friends I got, my teacher had a melt-down  
Then I look at me and I start to see and a voice inside tells me what I must do  
Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue  
It's there inside of you..." _

He sighed when he was done. The song was so fast, he thought it was quite an achievement to have done the whole song and not mess up the lyrics. The others were applauding for him, though Joey obviously couldn't be bothered; he was looking at his sheet of music in his lap, a frown on his face.

May hadn't noticed. She turned to Bethany: "So, how did you and Jack meet?"

The braided girl smiled and blushed. "I've known Jack since I was four years old. I was playing outside, and I met Jack, and then we climbed up in a tree and ate a chocolate bar together." she laughed and lay her head on his shoulder. "He's been my best friend since then."

"What were you doing with a chocolate bar?" Antonio asked. Jack shrugged.

"Meh, I was four. Who knows?"

"So, what do your parents do?"

"Uh, my mom's a school teacher and my dad's a pokemon researcher. He does a lot of mathematical stuff that I don't understand." Jack said.

"My dad's also a pokemon researcher, but he does something about if there is a healthy level of pokemon or if they can be deemed 'too powerful' or whatever. My mom sort of just stays at home." Bethany explained.

"My mom just stays at home, and my dad is the Petalburg Gym leader." May told them, "My little brother is going on his journey with one of my old friends."

"I'm the Flouroma Town gym leader," Antonio said. "My mom stays at home and takes care of my brothers, and my dad is the town's pokemon professor."

"My mom stays at home, and my dad is the New Arbor town gym leader." Joey said without interest.

"My mom and my dad are the bosses of Maxwell Corp." Drew said indifferently, "My brother's in grad school and my sisters' taking acting lessons."

Everyone in the group stared at him. Drew frowned. "What? You all told us about your family."

"Really?" Joey asked. To Drew's horror, he had a malicious glint in his eyes. "What about your uncle?"

"My uncle?" Drew asked blankly, "Oh, yeah, I'm forgetting. My Dad's younger brother, Darren, his daughter is Destiny, the producer of the show we're practicing for."

The words "No way!" and "Cool!" broke out from members of the group, but Joey didn't look satisfied.

"No, Drew," He said loudly. They all went quiet. "I meant the_ other_ uncle."

Drew looked straight into those silver eyes and felt his stomach contract. He felt his hands shaking slightly as he thought, _N-no way! How could he find out about that? I never told Ash or Max or Brock or May... I've only ever told Roselia about him!_

Joey smirked. "Ah, so you do know who I'm talking about, huh?"

May was looking from one to the other in confusion. "What? What's going on? Who's Drew's uncle?" The others were watching, holding their breath. (A/N- HUGE SHOCKER coming up!! If you are eating anything, swallow it now or you'll choke on it!)

"You don't know?" Joey asked in mock surprise. "Why, Dominic Maxwell, otherwise known as 'the boss'... is none other than the _boss of Team Rocket!"_

A single gasp came from them all at the same time. Drew felt as if his insides had frozen to ice. He could only think one thing clearly: _How did he know?!_

"Is that true?" May asked, looking at him in shock. "Drew, is that true?"

"Of course it is, he can't sp-" Drew cut Joey off.

"That man is no family of mine." Drew's voice was low, rough and harsh- it hardly sounded like him. He stood up and walked away, his folder tucked under his arm, his clenched fists buried deep in his pockets. He kept his eyes on the ground in front of him as he walked quickly through the streets. Once he reached the pokemon center, he hurried up the stairs to his room. Numb, he sat down, his back leaning against the bed. May's face when she discovered that the man who was in charge of the group that was trying to steal Ash's pikachu was haunting him. He pulled out Roselia's pokeball and released her.

Roselia sensed that something was wrong at once. In a sharp voice, she said, "Rose? Roselia selia? (Drew? What's wrong?)"

"Roselia... he knows." Drew said. His throat was dry.

"Rose? Roselia ros? Selia roselia? (What? Knows what? Who knows what?)"

"He knows about... My connection to Team Rocket." Drew said with difficulty.

Roselia's mouth fell open. "ROS?! Roselia roselia ros ros rose rose! (WHAT?! But how could he find out about that? D'you think May told him?)"

Drew shook his head. "You're the only one in the world who knew about that. And even if she did know, May wouldn't do anything like that."

Roselia opened her mouth to reply, but a knock at the door interrupted her. Drew returned her with a sigh and went to the door. He was surprised to find May on the other side.

"Drew." She said quietly. "Seriously, is what Joey said true?"

Drew looked away, leaning against the frame. "I- yeah, it is."

May looked up at him, her sapphire eyes glaring into his. Her voice shook slightly as she asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"How could I, May?" Drew asked heatedly, "If I had just said, 'hey, you know, the guy who keeps trying to steal Ash's pikachu is my uncle,' do you really think you would have wanted anything to do with me afterwards?"

May thought for a long minute. Finally she said, "Well... I probably wouldn't have."

"Exactly." Drew said quietly. "Just between you, me, and the door frame..." he leaned down closer to her face, lowering his voice, although there was no one else around. "... You, Max, Ash, and Brock were the first real human friends I ever had. Before, it was me and my Roselia."

"Ah... okay," May said, slightly disoriented by his emerald eyes being mere inches from her own. She was finding it very hard to breathe all of a sudden.

Drew pulled away, flushing slightly. "Well, I gotta practice. See you tonight."

"Drew!" May called. He turned and, before he knew it, May had stood up on the tips of her toes and brushed her lips against his cheek. Blushing furiously, she said, "See you later!" and ran off down the hallway.

Drew watched after her, reaching up and touching the spot where her lips had been. His skin was still tingling.

"She kissed me..." he whispered.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

Drew looked at the people walking around him as he went down the street, heading towards the studio. Part of him wanted to see his new friends, but another part of him was afraid that, after finding out about Drew's uncle, they would avoid him. However, a moment later, he found that his worries were needless.

"Drew! Amigo!" called Antonio from behind. He came running up to Drew, followed by Jack and Bethany.

"Hey, Drew, are you alright?" Jack asked, stopping in front of him, panting.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Drew asked sarcastically. "The silver-haired idiot just told my best friends and the girl of my dreams that I was related to the biggest bad guy in the world."

"That was low." Bethany said softly, though she had clenched her fists. "I don't know what he was playing at, it was like he was trying to... to... to turn you into public enemy number one, or something."

"As if we'd care." Jack said. "Sure, we haven't known you for long, but you're an all right guy, aren't you?"

"Cheers," Drew replied with a grin as they entered the studio. They quickly found the sheet that had their order of performances that night. Antonio was going sixth, May was going eighth, Drew fifteenth, and Bethany would be going twenty-third.

"I just wondered," Antonio said as they sat down. "Who went home last night?"

"Uh... I think Asahina did. So did Axel Wheeler and Yugi Moto..." Bethany frowned as she tried to remember.

"Don't forget Ayame Sohma and Kigure Sohma." Jack said.

"How many Sohma's are here?" Drew asked interestedly.

"Yuki, Kyo, and Momiji are still singing." Antonio ticked off on his fingers, "And with Kigure and Ayame gone. that means five Sohma's were here."

"Great." Drew muttered as Destiny walked up onstage. Drew figured that they were live again, as Destiny was looking straight at a camera. She was dressed in long black jeans and a black and silver-striped t-shirt with a short black zip-up jacket over it.

"Hello, hello, and welcome back to the week long premiere of the show _Singing Stars!_ I'm your host, Destiny Maxwell, here with all of your favorite celebrities. Now... let's get it on!"

After a few singers, Antonio walked onto the stage, where he accepted the microphone from Hiyono, who had just sang the song "Could it Be?" from the Kim Possible movie.

Antonio tapped his foot to the music for a moment, and then began:

_"I have often dreamed  
Of a far-off place  
Where a hero's welcome  
Will be waiting for me  
Where the crowds will cheer  
When they see my face  
And a voice keeps saying  
This is where I'm meant to be_

_I'll be there someday  
I can go the distance  
I will find my way  
If I can be strong  
I know ev'ry mile  
Will be worth my while  
When I go the distance  
I'll be right where I belong_

_Down an unknown road  
To embrace my fate  
Though the road may wander  
It will lead me to you  
And a thousand years  
Would be worth the wait  
It may take a lifetime  
But somehow I'll see it through_

_And I won't look back  
I can go the distance  
I will stay on track  
No I won't accept defeat  
It's an uphill slope  
But I won't lose hope  
Til I go the distance  
And my journey is complete_

_But to look beyond the glory  
Is the hardest part  
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart  
Like a shooting star  
I can go the distance  
I will search the world  
I will face it's arms  
I don't care how far  
I can go the distance  
Till I find my hero's welcome  
Waiting in your arms_

_I will search the world  
I will face it's arms  
Till I find my hero's welcome  
Waiting in your arms"_

When he finished, he beamed and waved to the crowd. Suddenly, he wondered if, back home in the Orange Islands, Catherine was watching him. The thought made him flush slightly as he handed the microphone to Joey. When Antonio sat back down, he had already started singing. However, one would think that he had a toothache, judging from his facial expression.

After a few minutes, May walked slowly onstage. She looked nervous but prepared, and she took the mike tightly in both of her hands, where she listened as the music started to play.

_"Look at me  
You may think you see  
Who I really am  
But you'll never know me  
Every day, is as if I play apart  
Now I see  
If I wear a mask  
I can fool the world  
But I can not fool  
My heart_

_Who is that girl I see  
Staring straight back at me?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?_

_I am now  
In a world where I have to  
Hide my heart  
And what I believe in  
But somehow  
I will show the world  
What's inside my heart  
And be loved for who I am_

_Who is that girl I see  
Staring straight back at me?  
Why is my reflection  
Someone I don't know?_

_Must I pretend that I'm  
Someone else for all time?_

_When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?_

_There's a heart that must  
Be free to fly  
That burns with a need  
To know the reason why  
Why must we all conceal  
What we think  
How we feel  
Must there be a secret me  
I'm forced to hide?  
I won't pretend that I'm  
Someone else_

_For all time  
When will my reflections show  
Who I am inside?  
When will my reflections show  
Who I am inside?"_

May smiled as she finished, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. Her smile grew even wider as she saw Joey clapping for her, a wide grin on his own face. Then she saw Drew, sitting a few seats behind him. Drew was clapping softly, watching her with a proud gleam in his eyes. She felt herself flush with pleasure as she stepped offstage.

Drew smiled as May stepped back into the crowd, and sat next to Joey. A few minutes later, he stood up and went behind the curtain to get ready. He took the microphone from Momo Adachi, and stepped out into the lights. He took a deep breath, wondering once again why he had to choose such a fast song.

Then he heard a soft drum beat in the background, and in the split second before he had to start, he realized how much this song reflected his life.

_"I got a little hunch that there is something goin on now  
The clothes I bought, the friends I got, my teacher had a melt-down  
Then I look at me, and I start to see and a voice inside tells me what I must do  
Wake-up. Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue  
It's there inside of you_

_Oh yeah...That's right_

_Get a clue...there's nothin you can do  
Nothing's ever quite what it seems  
Just look a little closer at me  
Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue_

_That's the way it goes now_

_Did you ever see the world around you change before your eye-ees  
The people you ignore before they took you by surpri-ies  
Then you look at me and I start to see that something happens when I'm next to  
You_

At this moment, Drew looked straight into May's eyes.

_Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue  
It's there inside of you_

_Oh yeah...That's right_

_Get a clue...there's nothin you can do  
Nothing's ever quite what it seems  
Just look a little closer at me  
Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue_

_Oh yeah...That's right_

_That's the way it goes now_

_Oh yeah...That's right_

_The first one came on a Tuesday afternoon when I first saw you  
The next one came to my surprise when I found out what I had to do  
Take a photograph of me hang it in a gallery sit around and watch TV  
I turn around and then you look at me, Ya Ya_

_Oh yeah...That's Right_

_I got a little hunch that there is something goin on now  
The clothes I bought, the friends I got, my teacher had a melt-down  
Then I look at me and I start to see  
And a voice inside tells me what I must do-oo-oo-oo  
Get a clue...it's there inside of you_

_Oh yeah...That's right_

_Get a clue...there's nothin you can do  
Nothing's ever quite what it seems  
Just look a little closer at me_

_Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue  
Oh yeah... That's right_

_Get a clue  
Oh yeah... That's right_

_Wake-up Who knew? It's me It's you...Get a clue  
Oh yeah... That's right_

_That's the way it goes now  
Oh yeah... That's right_

_Wake-up Who knew? It's me It's you...  
Get a clue"_

Drew grinned at the crowd, the girls screaming as he did so. He stepped back into the seats and sat next to his friends.

"Nice," Antonio said.

"Get a clue..." Jack sang for a moment, then he groaned. "You've got that stuck in my head now, Drew!"

"Your welcome." Drew said with a smirk. A few minutes later, Bethany said, "It's my turn in a bit, I'll see you later."

Bethany took a breath backstage, and then ran out to the guitar music when it was her turn. She bobbed up and down lightly to the guitar music as she counted in her head. Then she raised the microphone to her lips and began:

_"Everyone has got a secret side  
A winding path up to  
A door that's open wide  
I think you know me  
But I'm changing all the time_

_Cause if I wanna be sweet  
If I wanna be wild  
If I wanna cry like a child  
If I pick up the world  
Its a ball in my hand  
I guess that's just who I am_

_This is me, can't ignore it  
Reaching out, breaking free  
Constantly falling forward  
Yeah, I'm just going for it  
This is me_

_Sometimes life is a confusing thing  
When I talk it seems like no one's listening  
Try to be an angel, but I just can't find my wings_

_'Cause I wanna be sweet  
But I wanna be wild  
And I wanna find my own style  
So I make a mistake, then I do it again  
But I do it the best that I can_

_This is me, can't ignore it  
Reaching out, breaking free  
Constantly falling forward  
Yeah, I'm just going for it  
This is me_

_What you see  
No more than i can be..._

_This is me, can't ignore it  
Reaching out, breaking free  
Constantly falling forward  
Yeah, I'm just going for it  
This is me  
This is me, can't ignore it  
Reaching out, breaking free  
Constantly falling forward  
Yeah, I'm just going for it  
This is me  
Can't ignore it...  
Breaking free...  
Falling forward  
Yeah, I'm just going for it  
This is me"_

Bethany finally finished, panting slightly. She smiled to the camera and the crowd, and exited the stage.

"Nice one, Bethany," Jack said as he hugged her tightly.

"Great job," Antonio told her.

"Thanks," Bethany smiled and blushed lightly.

"Good one," Drew said as he looked through the crowd. He caught Joey's silver eyes glaring at him over his shoulder. Drew glared right back, as if to say_, 'You can't break me.'_

Joey smirked haughtily at him, as if he was very proud of himself. The look on his face was very clear_: 'Watch me.'  
_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: Ooooh, cliffy!! That took a while to write, so review that too!_

_Next Chapter: We have the Third Task! Will Harry survive? Or will the Cup have a twist on -cell phone rings- Hello? What? This is for HP4? Whoops!_

_Okay, for real, next chapter: Our singers get the next assignment! What will it be? What will Joey do this time? And why is this Sabrina Morgans girl so friendly with Joey?_

_REVIEW!!_


	8. Day Three: Double Trouble With the Duets

_Amv: I'm back, with chapter 8!_

_Purpleduckies9: Amv wants you all to know that everyone here is a little out of character._

_Antonio: Well, anyway, Amv doesn't own the song "Someday We'll Know" by Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman-_

_Jack: Not "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown-_

_Drew: Nor "Hate That I Love You" by Rihanna and Ne-yo._

_Purpleduckies9: And she definetly DOES NOT own pokemon._

_Scorp1029: I LIKE CHEESE!!_

_Amv:... Lovely. Well, enjoy. _

**Chapter Eight:**

**Day Three: Double Trouble with the Duets**

"So, what do you think we're going to do today?" Antonio wondered as he, Drew, Bethany, and Jack walked through the streets, heading towards the studio. Today he was wearing a dark red t-shirt with a long sleeved white shirt under it and light blue jeans.

"Who knows? There's so much variety in music, it could be anything." Jack said. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a radio on it that read _"I Come With My Own Theme Music."_ and baggy tan shorts.

"Good point. What do you think, Drew?" Bethany asked. She took off her green jacket to reveal a lilac wrap-around t-shirt. Her long blue jeans flared out at her ankles, as usual.

"I agree with Jack." Drew said simply, his hands dug into the pockets of his blue jeans. He was also wearing a dark blue polo shirt.

"Are you alright, Drew?" Jack asked with a small frown. He had just noticed the purple shadows under his friend's green eyes.

Drew nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

When they arrived at the studio, they took their usual seats. Drew looked around the room, searching for May.

"Watcha lookin' for, Drew?" Antonio asked, cupping his chin in his hand and leaning on the armrest.

"If it starts with the letter 'M' and ends in 'A-Y', she just walked in," Bethany said, pointing to the door.

Drew turned his gaze to the door, and sure enough, May and Joey were entering the studio. Joey was wearing the usual, May was looking incredible (as usual). Today she had a white t-shirt with a green tank top over it, and long blue jeans. When she noticed them, May waved energetically. Joey fluttered his hand halfheartedly, and gave Drew a very rude hand gesture when May wasn't looking.

"That's nice." Drew muttered.

"Git." Jack said, idly twiddling his thumbs together as Destiny came onstage with her microphone. As usual, the table behind her was full of paper.

"Great job last night, everyone!" She said happily. "Now, for tonight's challenge... for the past few days, you've been rocking it out solo. Well, let's see how you do with duets? Come on, partner up!"

"Huh?" Drew asked, waking up out of a daydream.

"We're doing duets." Antonio grumbled. "Ugh."

"I wish I could work with Jack." Bethany said sadly. Jack patted her on the shoulder.

"C'mon," Antonio said, "Let's go check out the songs."

Drew nodded, and followed him out into the aisle. As they meandered through the crowd, they came upon two boys who seemed to be arguing about working with the same girl.

"Shut up, you darn rat, you know that Tohru and I would do a lot better than if she was working with you-" an orange haired boy was yelling.

"Oh, really?" a purple haired boy replied calmly. "I've been under the impression that Miss Honda is allowed to choose who she sings with, you stupid cat."

"YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY ARE A-" the orange haired boy swore loudly, then a blond girl slapped him on the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Shut up and wash out your mouth, Kyo."

The boy called Kyo leapt up and shouted, "What's this got to do with you, ya Yankee?"

"Let's get out of here." Antonio muttered as the girl prepared to punch him. Sure enough, a moment later, Kyo was nursing a very painful jaw.

"Well, that was entertaining." Drew said lightly as he and Antonio wandered through the crowd. Many people had already paired up; they passed Hiyono poring over a few stacks of papers, a brown haired boy watching her seemingly without interest. A short boy asked, "Er, Asuna? What do you think of this?"

A red haired girl looked over at a paper he was pointing at. "It might work, Negi."

"Negi?" Antonio quoted. "What kind of a name is that? Drew?" He looked around him. "Where did Drew go?"

Drew had walked off to a side of the table where the papers had not been disturbed. He took a few papers and felt his heart fall. Great. So it turned out that all of these duets needed a girl and a boy, and they were all love songs. May's and Joey's show would be fantastic.

Wait, May and Joey...

Drew turned around as he heard a girl's heated voice. To his surprise, he saw May arguing with Joey and... was that Sabrina? He decided to move a little closer, pretending to be absorbed in looking "Breaking Free" over. Though, in truth, he was straining to hear...

"...Sorry, May, but she asked me first. Saying no would be rude." Joey was saying.

"Um, I _kinda _thought that I wouldn't have to ask my boyfriend to work with him!" May said angrily. She was too flustered to see Sabrina smirk suddenly. But Drew saw it. _What the...?_

"Well, I'm sorry, May..." Joey turned around and grabbed his and Sabrina's hot pink folder. "Good luck finding a partner." Without waiting for a response, he and Sabrina hightailed it out the door, leaving May alone. Or so she thought.

"Now_ that_ was pretty darn rude." Drew said with a frown as he came over. May jumped and spun around to face him.

"Drew! I thought you'd be off practicing your song."

Drew sighed. "I would be, but I don't have anyone to work with."

"Really?" May looked surprised. "I don't have anyone either. Joey, ah, decided to work with another girl."

"So, what do you say to working with me?" the words fell out of Drew's mouth without his consent. He blushed and looked away, at his feet. _I couldn't have worded that in a worse way._

But May just smiled. "Sure, I'd love to! So, what song do you have in mind?"

"Er..." Drew had not expected this response. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "I don't really know any songs. You can choose."

May thought for a minute, then she smiled happily, making Drew completely melt on the inside. "I know the perfect song! Let's see if it's here!" She grabbed Drew's hand and dragged him along the table with her.

"What's it called?" He asked when she stopped, flicking through stacks of paper.

May looked up at him and smiled again. "It's a song between Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman. It's called 'Someday We'll Know.'"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"So, Drew," May said as they sat under the tree half hour later. "I haven't seen you much the past few days. What've you been up to?"

"Not much," he replied, "All I've really been doing is practicing for the singing. You?"

"Same as you." May sighed and leaned back against the bark. Drew watched as she closed her eyes, looking as if she was about to drop off to sleep.

"Are you alright?" he asked. May sat up and sighed again.

"To tell the truth, I'm just kind of mad. I mean, Joey just goes and leaves me to work with some other girl. He said that I didn't _ask _to work with him." She tittered angrily. "Should I actually have to ask to work with my own boyfriend?!"

"I think it should go without saying." Drew said seriously.

"Thank you!" May cried. "I mean, when we met he seemed like a nice guy, and he really is, but sometimes he can be so RUDE, you really wouldn't believe it..."

Drew bit his lip as he was forced to go through this torturous conversation. There were so many things he wished he could say at that moment_: I knew that Joey was nothing but a rotten jerk... How can you let him walk all over you like that, May?... I wish I could tell you the truth about Joey, but Max was right, this guy can worm his way out of trouble better than Harley could..._

"Are you still there, Drew?" May asked waving a hand in front of his face.

Drew jumped slightly. "I-yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to zone out on you."

May sighed. "It's alright. Joey does it a lot."

"That doesn't make it right," Drew argued. Then he smiled and held up the paper. "So, you wanna start this?"

May smiled back at him, flushing slightly. "Yeah! How do you practice?"

"Um... I sort of just run through it a million times." Drew admitted. May laughed.

"You do? I memorize the chorus first, then I work on the rest of the song." She nodded. "It makes memorizing it easier, because the chorus makes up about half of the song."

"That's great advice, May." Drew said. "Fine, let's start with the chorus:

_"Oh, Someday we'll know  
(May) If love can move a mountain  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
(Drew) Why the sky is blue  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
Why I wasn't meant for you..."_

"That was pretty good." May said. Drew simply nodded, thinking over that last bit. It actually described what he had been wondering for the past few days: _Why wasn't I meant for May?_

"Yeah..."

"May! Drew!" came Bethany and Antonio's voices. They came running over, Jack following close behind. He stopped, his hands on his knees. "Why..do...you have...to run?" he gasped.

Bethany shrugged. "You get to places faster."

"So," Antonio said as he sat down Indian-style. "What are you two singing?"

"'Someday We'll Know,'" May told them.

"Ooh, really?" Bethany gushed, "I love that song! Antonio and I are singing 'Hate That I Love You.'"

"Wait..." May frowned slightly. "I thought Bethany and Jack were dating and Antonio liked a girl back on the Orange Islands?"

"We do," Antonio said, "But we didn't have any other choice. Bethany said herself that she wished she could work with Jack."

Bethany nodded. "I think it would be really cool if I could work with Jack" she lay her head on his shoulder. "After all, he's my homeboy!"

"Homeboy?" Drew repeated, snickering. May hit him on the back of the head, saying, "Don't tease her!"

The others laughed as Drew replied, "I'm not making fun of _her_, I was simply laughing at her choice of words!"

"Same difference!"

As they argued, Bethany said softly to Jack, "Look at Drew."

Jack gave the green haired boy a long look, then gasped. "Drew's... Drew's actually _smiling_."

"Yeah." Bethany agreed. "For the first time since we met him, that's the first true smile we've seen on his face. The thing with May being with Joey must hurt a lot more than he lets on."

"Mm-hm." Jack nodded.

"It's just an interesting way to put it-!"

"-What do you care what she calls him?"

"I don't, I just think it's funny!"

"You're so _mean, _Drew!"

"How is that mean?!"

Antonio, Bethany, and Jack continued to watch the playful flirting. They all felt their hearts fill with pity; they were all thinking along similar lines:

Antonio's Thoughts:_ Poor Drew. It's so obvious that he's totally into her, why didn't he tell her before? Was it just like me, being afraid to tell Cat my feelings for her because I was afraid of rejection?_

Jack's Thoughts: _Wow. Drew's such a FLIRT!! I mean, he's nothing like this with any other girl, but with May he's like a whole new person. I wish Drew and May really were together, Drew seems to be so much happier and May looks better, too._

Bethany's Thoughts: _Oh my gosh, it's so obvious that they have feelings for each other! I can't believe Drew actually let a girl as great as May slip into Joey's hands! But that's not fair. Drew may not show it, but I can tell... losing May has torn him apart. _

And they all thought at the same time: _Someday they'll know... they really were meant for each other._

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"So, are you sure you're ready for this?" Drew asked May out of the corner of his mouth as he walked down the sidewalk with her. May looked up at him with a slight pout on her face and crossed her arms.

"Of course I am! And I could ask you the same thing!"

Drew smiled at her. "I'm _always _ready for _everything._"

"Are you?" May challenged.

"Always," Drew replied simply as they entered the studio. They found a pair of seats next to Antonio, Jack, and Bethany, and sat down. A moment later, May jumped back up, saying, "There's Joey! I'm going to go say hi, I'll be back in a minute!"

"See you!" Drew said, false cheer in his voice. He watched as May ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Joey hugged her back and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Drew clenched his hands into tight fists as May blushed and held a hand up to her face as she returned.

"I'm back!" She said happily as she took her seat beside Drew. She caught sight of Drew's pained expression. "Drew, are you okay?"

"Fine." Drew said through gritted teeth. "Really excited."

"Drew," May said quietly, putting a hand over his. Drew looked into her sapphire eyes and hated himself; it made things so much harder to keep his 'cool guy' composure when she looked at him. Especially now. "I told you before... anything you have to say, you can tell me."

Drew pulled his hand away and looked at his lap, his hair falling into his face. "And I told you before... Don't worry about me."

"If you say so..." May sighed, and turned to Bethany, who had been evesdropping on the rather intense discussion. "What's the lineup for tonight?"

"Um..." Bethany frowned as she thought. "First up is Hiyono Yuzaki and Ayumu Narumi, then it's Kyo Sohma and Ansa Uotani, followed by Yuki Sohma and Tohru Honda-"

"BETHANY!" May yelled. "Tell me when people I actually know are going up!"

"Oh. Me and Antonio are fourth, Joey and the blond girl are sixth, and you and Drew are ninth. There's going to be a total of thirteen performances." Bethany said smartly, totally unperturbed by May screaming at her.

"Thank you!" May said with a smile. She sat facing forward, facing the stage as Destiny stepped on. "We're back, and welcome to another episode of _Singing Stars! _Though our singers are doing duets, they will each be scored individually. Now, I am pleased to introduce Hiyono and Ayumu, who will be singing..."

And so it went. Both Hiyono and Ayumu did very well, and even Ansa and Kyo got along long enough to sing their song. However, as they stepped offstage, Ansa smacked Kyo in the back of the head, who retaliated by shouting, "You psychopath Yankee!"

Destiny rolled her eyes as she said, "And now, here are our next two competitors, Bethany Anderson and Antonio Maleke!"

"Ready?" Antonio asked as the music started.

"You can bet your curly hair I am." She replied as she started:

_Bethany (Antonio)  
Yeah... hey... Oh...  
That's much I love you (yeah)  
That's how much I need you (yeah, yeah, yeahah)  
And I can't stand ya  
Most everything you do  
Make me wanna smile  
Can I not like you for awhile (no... oh...)_

_Antonio (Bethany):  
Cuz you won't let me  
You upset me girl  
And then you kiss my lips  
All of a sudden I forget (that I was upset)  
Can't remember what you did_

_Bethany__:  
But I hate it...  
You know exactly what to do  
So that I can't stay mad at you  
For too long that's wrong_

_Antonio:  
But I hate it...  
You know exactly how to touch  
So that I don't want to fuss... and fight no more  
Said I despise that I adore you_

_Bethany (Antonio):  
And I hate how much I love you boy (yeah...)  
I can't stand how much I need you (I need you...)  
And I hate how much I love you boy (oooh whoah...)  
But I just can't let you go  
And I hate that I love you so (oooh...)_

_Antonio:  
And you completely know the power that you have  
The only one that makes me laugh_

_Bethany__:  
Sad and it's not fair  
How you take advantage of the fact  
That I... love you beyond the reason why (why...)  
And it just ain't right_

_Antonio (Bethany):  
And I hate how much I love you girl  
I can't stand how much I need you (yeah...)  
And I hate how much I love you girl  
But I just can't let you go  
But I hate that I love you so_

_Both:  
One of these days maybe your magic won't affect me  
And your kiss won't make me weak  
But no one in this world knows me the way you know me  
So you'll probably always have a spell on me..._

_Antonio:  
Yeaahhh... Oohh... _

_Both:  
And I hate that I love  
You soooooooo!_

_Bethany (Antonio):  
As much I love you (as much as I need you oh...)  
As much as I need you (oooh... as so much I love you)  
As much I love you (oh...)  
As much as I need you_

_Bethany (Antonio):  
And I hate that I love you soooo  
And I hate how much I love you boy  
I can't stand how much I need ya (cant stand how much I need you)  
And I hate how much I love you boy  
But I just can't let you go (but I just can't let you go no...)  
And I hate that I love you so _

_And I hate that I love you so... soo..."_

"Urgh..." Drew heard from Jack. The blond boy was slumped back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's wrong?" Drew asked, frowning slightly.

Jack sighed. "I hate myself for it... but I'm kind of jealous. I just can't believe that they chose that song."

"Oh, relax Jack," May said, leaning across Drew to talk to him. He fought to keep himself from shivering. "Bethany likes you, right? I know I haven't known you two very long, but you seemed to be doing really well. Not to mention, you were also best friends for more than ten years before you got together. No one can get in the way of a bond like that."

Jack smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

"After all, you are her homeboy." Drew joked. May bopped him on the back of the head.

"Hi, Jack," Bethany said as she sat next to him.

He smiled at her and gave her a big hug, "You were great!"

Bethany smiled at him and leaned in and said into his ear, "You don't have to be jealous."

"I'm sorry-" Jack said, but Bethany cut him off.

"No problems. Hey, The silver haired slimeball is going up, let's watch!"

"I hope he falls off the stage." Drew mumbled as May leaned forward, her chin resting in her palms.

Joey smiled widely at Sabrina as she began:

_Sabrina:  
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?  
If I should die before I wake  
It's cause you took my breath away  
Losing you is like living in a world with no air, oh_

_Joey:  
I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave  
My heart won't move, it's incomplete  
Wish there was a way that I can make you understand_

_Sabrina:  
But how  
Do you expect me, to live alone with just me?  
'Cause my world revolves around you  
It's so hard for me to breathe_

_Both:  
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?  
Can't live, can't breathe with no air  
That's how I feel whenever you ain't there  
There's no air, no air  
Got me out here in the water so deep  
Tell me how you gon live without me?  
If you ain't here, I just can't breathe  
There's no air, no air  
No air air, No air air  
No air air, No air air_

_Joey:  
I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew,  
Right off the ground to float to you  
There's no gravity to hold me down, for real_

_Sabrina:  
But somehow I'm still alive inside  
You took my breath but I survived  
I don't know how but I don't even care_

_Both:  
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?  
Can't live, can't breathe with no air  
That's how I feel whenever you ain't there  
There's no air, no air  
Got me out here in the water so deep  
Tell me how you goin live without me?  
If you ain't here I just can't breathe  
There's no air, no air  
No air air, No air air  
No air air, No air air_

_No more  
No air  
Baby  
There's no air, no air  
Hey, oOoOo  
Oooooooooooooh_

_Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?  
Can't live, can't breathe with no air  
That's how I feel whenever you ain't there  
There's no air, no air  
Got me out here in the water so deep  
Tell me how you gon live without me?  
If you ain't here I just can't breathe  
There's no air, no air_

_Sabrina:  
Do you expect me, to live alone with just me  
Cause my world revolves around you, It's so hard for me to breathe_

_Both:  
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?  
Can't live, can't breathe with no air  
That's how I feel whenever you ain't there  
There's no air, no air  
Got me out here in the water so deep  
Tell me how you gonna be without me?  
If you ain't here I just can't breathe  
There's no air, no air  
No air air, No air air  
No air air,  
No air..."_

They finally finished, their faces mere inches from each other. Drew glanced at May, to see how she would react to this. Unfortunately, she was to busy ogling at his 'magnificent' singing to notice how close he was to kissing a complete stranger on live TV. Drew clenched his fists; Antonio muttered "Idiota," which Drew figured was something offensive in Spanish, and Jack had to keep his arm tight around Bethany's waist to keep her from grabbing her Scyther and murdering Joey onstage. Back home somewhere, Drew was sure Max was shouting "That little cheater!" Drew was certainly thinking along those lines, though his thoughts were a little more... shall we say, colorful.

"That was really good!" May said in awe as she turned to Drew. He felt a jab in his heart when he saw the sparkle in her eyes- the same sparkle she had once had when she looked at Drew.

"Yeah!" Drew said, his voice heavy with false cheer. "Really good!"

May smiled at him, and then blew a kiss over to Joey. He winked back, and when May turned away, smirked haughtily at Drew, who was about three steps away from taking a leaf out of Misty's book and smashing Joey to the moon with a mallet he pulled out of the air. (A/N- Drew: That's not a half bad idea. Misty: It's MY JOB.)

"Drew!" May tapped Drew on the shoulder. "It's time for us to go up!"

"Wha-? Oh, yeah! I'm coming!" Drew told her, standing up and walking backstage with her as Negi and Asuna sang.

"Break a leg," May said.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

May frowned. "It's a figure of speech!"

"Well, then, good luck," Drew said, and without thinking, he leaned down and gently brushed his lips against her cheek. May blushed and raised a hand to the spot his lips had touched.

"Drew? Why did you...?" May asked, looking up at him.

Drew grinned at her. "You kissed me without warning yesterday, remember? That's my getting back at you."

"You only kissed me for revenge?" May cried.

"Mm... not _only_," Drew said mysteriously, and he walked out into the lights, May following behind him. Drew took the mike in his hands and looked over at May. She still looked rather flushed, but altogether pleased, and smiled back. That kiss had made her feel so different than when Joey's had...

The slow music started up, and May counted in her head to get ready to sing:

_"May:  
Ninety miles outside Chicago  
Can't stop driving, I don't know why  
So many questions, I need an answer  
Two years later you're still on my mind_

_Drew:  
Whatever happened to Amelia Earheart?  
Who holds the stars up in the sky?  
Is true love just once in a lifetime?"_

He glanced over at May as he sang this, then back out at he crowd as she looked his way.

_Both:  
Did the captain of the Titanic cry? _

_Oh, Someday we'll know  
(May) If love can move a mountain  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
(Drew) Why the sky is blue  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
Why I wasn't meant for you..._

_(May) Does anybody know the way to Atlantis?  
(Drew) Or what the wind says when she cries?  
(May) I'm speeding by the place that I met you  
(Both) For the ninety-seventh time...Tonight"_

May smiled and took the microphone out of its stand. She twirled around, her hair flying with her as she got really into it. Drew smiled to himself as the crowd whooped and cheered. Deciding to throw his pride into the drum beat, he tugged the mike out of the holder and walked over to her. He took her hand and held it high above her head as she continued spinning.

_"Someday we'll know  
(May) If love can move a mountain  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
(Drew) Why the sky is blue  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
Why I wasn't meant for you...  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah  
Someday we'll know  
(Drew) Why Samson loved Dalilah?  
Both One day I'll go  
(May) Dancing on the moon  
(Both) Someday you'll know  
That I was the one for you..."_

He released the girl, allowing her to spin all the way across the stage, a wide smile on her face; it was clear that she was having the time of her life. She stopped near the end of the stage as the music slowed down, and went into the bridge.

_"(Both) Open up the world  
(May) I bought a ticket to the end of the rainbow  
(Drew) Watched the stars crash in the sea  
(May) If I can ask God just one question  
(Both) Why aren't you here with me tonight?"_

Drew looked over at May, who had been looking his way. May slowly walked over to him, her face flushing more with every step. Her face was only a foot from his as she stopped and sang with him:

_"Oh, Someday we'll know  
(Drew) If love can move a mountain  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
(May) Why the sky is blue  
(Both) Someday we'll know  
Why I wasn't meant for you...  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"_

Drew took May's hand and she smiled as he spun her around again. He heard her just barely keeping laughter out of her voice. Drew knew just how she felt; he was trying to keep calm, but it was hard. He felt giddy, like a ten year old with her first crush.

_"Someday we'll know  
(Drew) Why Samson loved Dalilah  
(Both) One day I'll go  
(May) Dancing on the moon  
(Both) Someday you'll know  
That I was the one for you..."_

May turned one last time, and, as she was very dizzy by now, she tripped over the cord to her own microphone. She nearly fell, but Drew quickly put one arm around her waist, and her own body weight threw her against him. Their faces were only three inches apart as the final notes faded into the background. For a moment, all was silent, but then the audience burst into applause, thinking that this had been a purposeful and perfect ending.

But, though the crowd was loud, it was nothing compared to the noise going on in May's and Drew's heads: other than their heart's pounds throbbing in their ears, their own gasps for air after the long notes in the song. It was also hard to breathe because they were both staring straight into each others' eyes.

After a long moment, Drew released her, feeling himself fall back into slight depression as he did. May looked just as stunned at what had just happened as he did. He took a deep breath as he went offstage, as he chanted a mantra in his head: _She doesn't feel the same way... She doesn't feel the same way... she doesn't like you like that... she likes Joey..._

Drew sighed sadly as he looked over at the couple. May was wrapped up tightly in Joey's arms, Joey's face turned towards him. The silver haired boy smirked and winked.

He looked back onto the stage, his heart falling even more as he did. _Why wasn't I meant for her?_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: KAWAIINESS..._

_Drew: Is that a word?_

_Amv: It is now!_

_Jack: Sure... just like 'shippyness' is a word..._

_Amv: Yep! Now, you go push that purplish button down there... yes...yes... no, a little to the left... there! Now click on that and REVIEW! This took me FOREVER to write!_

_Drew: It would've been done two hours ago if you hadn't forgotten to save it and you hadn't watched a bunch of Fruits Basket..._

_Amv: Shut up and review._


	9. Day Four: The Forgotten Love

_Amv: We're back with another chapter of Brokenheartsville! I'm also trying to write through writers block again._

_Drew: You wouldn't have such bad writers block if you hadn't just spent the past two hours watching Gakuen Alice. _

_Amv: Shut up, Drew. By the way, does anyone know any good authors for G.A.?_

_Drew: No. Anyway, Amv doesn't own the songs "Watchin' Airplanes" by Gary Allen or "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts-_

_Jack: And she also doesn't own the songs "Happy Ending" and "Settlin,'" both by Sugarland._

_Antonio: And she doesn't own pokemon!_

_Amv: Thanks, guys. Thanks a million. Well, enjoy._

**Chapter Nine:**

**Day Four: The "Forgotten" Love**

"Hey, May!" Bethany called as she, Jack, Antonio, and Drew walked to the studio the next day. May turned back and waved.

Bethany jogged up to her and Joey. "So, how did you do last night?"

May smiled and swung her and Joey's intertwined hands. "Joey and I did great! Top five!"

"Great," Drew said as he caught up, too. He was wearing a navy and black striped t-shirt and long blue jeans.

"Yeah, Drew's in first place!" Antonio said, running a hand through his hair. He was wearing a long sleeved purple unbuttoned shirt over a lighter purple t-shirt, and dark jeans. Passing girls swooned at the sight of him.

"Yeah, 'cuz he really needs more fame," Jack said sarcastically, though still joking. He was wearing a shirt that read "_I Swear I Didn't Do It" _and jean shorts. Bethany held his hand. Today she wore a snow white off the shoulder top with silver gloss flowers on the front, and long dark blue jeans in her typical fashion.

"But you love all the attention, don't you?" Joey sneered, wearing his usual black and white outfit.

"Who wouldn't?" Drew asked sarcastically, "Stalkers, fangirls, people begging you to kiss them... nothing creepy about that at all!"

"Mm..." May said as she looked at her feet. She was wearing a dark pink shirt with ther sleeves stopping just below her elbows and long jeans. Drew decided that she hadn't found his comment funny. That wasn't good.

"So... ah, does anyone have any ideas on what we're going to do today?"

"No." May said simply, keeping her back to him. Drew looked from May to Joey, who smirked and winked at him. Drew clenched his fists; great, what had Joey told her _now_?

It was a quiet group that entered the studio that morning as they prepared for the forth day's assignment. Jack sat next to Bethany, who was next to Antonio, who was beside Drew, who was next to May, who was resting her head on Joey's shoulder. Drew felt as if he were about to throw up.

Fortunately, at that moment, Destiny stepped onstage with her microphone. The room fell silent as she held up her hand. "Thank you. Great job last night everyone! Well, now for today's challenge... in the world of music, different types go in and out of popularity. So, now we're going to make you sing some songs in the least known type of music there is these days... country!"

Joey groaned loudly, among several other negative comments from the crowd. Bethany looked surprised but excited about their assignment, and May clearly agreed. Antonio appeared less than estatic, but he wasn't complaining. Drew himself didn't care, as he was too busy wondering what was with May's weird behavior.

"...Well, come up and pick your music, everyone." Destiny said. Drew follwed everyone to the stage, looking at the sheets of music without interest. He decided to pick the first peice he saw- "Watchin' Airplanes" by Gary Allen. As he scanned the sheet, he gave a thoughtful nod. This could work...

"Did you pick already, amigo?" Antonio asked as he came over with his own music. "I'm singing 'Bless the Broken Road' by Rascall Flatts."

"Great choice," Drew said quietly as he looked down at his feet. Over his shoulder, he had just caught May pulling Joey over to another end of the table by his arm. He sighed and muttered, "See you..."

He slowly left the studio, his folder tucked under his arm. He allowed his hair to fall into his face, hiding his eyes from the world. He knew that some people were staring at him, wondering why he wasn't taking in the beautiful scene of the sapphire ocean as it gently washed the beach sand. Well, that was the reason; it was sapphire. The color of May's eyes.

He clenched his fists as hot tears stung at his eyes. Drew had told himself again and again, but did his heart get the message? No, of course not. His heart wasn't understanding that May had a boyfriend she was happy with, that Drew couldn't hold a candle to... it didn't mean anything when she hugged him, or kissed him on the cheek, or tripped like the klutz she was and fell into his arms...

"Nothing..." Drew said softly. "It means absolutely nothing..."

So, would it mean nothing if Drew tried to go out with another girl? At this thought, he laughed to himself. Drew could as easily give up coordinating than fall out of love with May.

"Drew!" called a familiar voice from behind. Drew stopped, but didn't turn around to see the girl as she stopped, her hands on her knees.

"Drew... what's up? You've been off all day." May said as she stood back up.

"I'm not 'off.' Everything's fine." he lied through his teeth.

May was momentarily surprised at his cold manner, but she quickly pushed that aside. "No, everything is not fine! You've been wierd since you met Joey!"

"This has nothing to do with him." _Drew, what are you saying? You might as well be saying that Snorlax's can fly for all that's true._

"I never said it did!" May said angrily, bunching her hands into fists. She didn't even know why she was so angry.

"You implied it." _Seriously, man, you really should be honest right now..._

"No I didn't!" May burst, crossing her arms over her chest now. "That was all you. And why does it seem like you hate him? What do you care whether he's my boyfriend or not?"

Drew felt those words as if they had slapped him in the face. At that moment, Drew knew that, if he wanted to keep his feelings a secret, there was only one thing he could do...

He grit his teeth and told the biggest lie of his life: "I _don't!"_

"Good!"

"Good!" Drew retorted. He stalked off, not looking back, trying his hardest not let the tears fall from his eyes and not to imagine the hurt look on her face.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Amigo! Where have you been all day?" Antonio asked when the green haired boy finally arrived at the studio that night.

"Practicing." Drew said shortly.

"Drew," Bethany asked, "Do you know when you're up?"

Drew looked at her in surprise. "Ah... not really..."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I thought so. You're going fifth, right after Joey."

"Thanks." Drew said absently, staring at May's figure, sitting three rows in front of him. Bethnay looked between the two and sighed sadly as she lay her haed on Jack's shoulder.

"Something happened." She murmured.

"I thought so, too," Jack agreed.

A few minutes later, Drew went backstage, where he was not surprised to see Joey, leaning against the wall and staring at the crowd, a rather moody expression on his face. However, he brightened slightly as he noticed Drew standing a few feet away.

"So, I heard you and my _girlfriend_ had a fight." He drawled.

"You heard right," Drew coldly replied.

"Oh, yes, I know what happened..." Joey smirked as he remembered. "I went to visit her room, you see... She seemed to be a mess, her eyes red and puffy, her pillow soaked... then she told me about your argument, how you couldn't do her the courtasey of _looking _at her... Of course, as her boyfriend, I comforted her... the way you never did... and when she'll need it so much..."

"What does that mean?" Drew asked suspiciously as Kyo came backstage, holding out the microphone for the boy to take.

Joey chuckled, his silver eyes glimmering like daggers. He took the mike from Kyo and said, "I'm sure you'll see soon enough, Greenie."

As he went out into the lights, Drew heard Kyo mutter "He's a bigger rat than rat boy."

Drew raised an eyebrow at him. "Not that I don't disagree, but what makes you say that?"

Kyo frowned as he looked onstage. "Remember yesterday, when we had to do those stupid duets?"

"Yeah..." Drew said slowly, wondering where this was going.

"Well, you know how he was working with that one blonde girl? I saw them practicing." His frown grew deeper. "They were talking and giggling and poking each other... like they were in their own world. And then they came back to the studio, and that girl _you _were doing a duet with ran over and hugged him." Kyo smirked suddenly. "And you were staring at her the way I look at Tohru. And I can't believe I just said that."

"Uh, that's great," Drew sweatdropped. "Yeah, the girl I was doing a duet with is who was supposed to be his girlfriend."

"Hmph," The orange haired boy laughed, but there was no trace of humor in Kyo's voice as he said, "The way he was looking at Blondie? You could've fooled me, and the cat's supposed to be the sharp one."

"Huh?" Drew asked, confused at that analogy.

Kyo smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry. Good luck, Greenie-"

"My name's DREW."

"-Drew then, good luck with your girl. She looked like she kinda liked you."

Drew groaned as Kyo walked away. Was it obvious to _everyone _that May had liked him? And then there was what Kyo had told him... about how Joey had been pretty flirty with who was _supposed _to be a stranger. But then he remembered his conversation with Max... could that girl actually be...?

A sharp whack on the back of the head brought him to the present. Drew glared at Joey, rubbing what he was sure was the sixth lump he'd gotten that week. He snatched the microphone from him and went out onstage. For a few moments, he listened to the beginning guitar music, and started:

_"Sittin' out here on the hood of this truck looking up  
At a caramel colored sunset sky  
Checkin' my watch doin' the math in my head  
Counting back words to when you said goodbye  
Well those runway lights are gettin' brighter_

_I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Take off and fly  
Tryin to figure out which one you might be on  
And why you don't love me anymore  
Right now I'm sittin' out here watching airplanes_

_I would've lied could've cried should've tried harder  
Done anything to make you stay  
I wonder what you'd do if you looked out your window  
Saw me runnin' down the runway just like I was crazy  
But that fence is too high so am I_

_So I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Take off and fly  
Tryin to figure out which one you might be on  
And why you don't love me anymore_

_By now I know you're thirty thousand feet above me  
But a million miles away, a million miles away  
By now I know how to act like you don't love me_

_But I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Take off and fly  
I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Take off and fly  
Tryin to figure out which one you might be on  
And why you don't love me anymore_

_Yeah I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Go by, by, by  
I'm just sittin' out here watching airplanes  
Baby bye, bye, bye..."_

The crowd went crazy as he finished. But, throughout the crowd, Drew only had eyes for May. The look on her face was unreadable, but as Drew gazed straight into her eyes, a small smile broke across her lips. Drew smiled back, trying to communicate "I'm Sorry." with his eyes, and somehow, he thought he had. Feeling slightly cheered, he went backstage to see a girl with loosely braided, honey-colored hair batting a spiky haired boy over the head with two hand puppets, shouting, "Bear! Bear! Bunny! Bunny!"

"Ah... Hiyono?" Drew asked hesitantly as he went over to her. He cowered slightly as she spun around on him, her puppets at the ready. However, Hiyono smiled, threw the poor things at the boy she had just been beating, and said, "Oooh, is it my turn? Yay! I can't wait! See you in a bit, Ayumu!"

She ran out onstage, earning a sweatdrop from both Drew and Ayumu. Drew sighed and leaned against the wall, as did Ayumu.

"Does she do that a lot?" Drew asked, searching for a conversation.

"A lot more then an eleventh greader should. By the way, I'm Ayumu. Ayumu Narumi." The boy sighed.

"Drew Maxwell." Drew sighed. "Are you in this competition? I don't think I've seen you sing except for last night. What was it again?"

"We sang 'Start of Something New.' There were twenty five people, and Hiyono happened to be the one lone singer. The producer gave me permission to sing with her, because otherwise she'd have to sing alone. I couldn't let her be embarrassed like that... and I couldn't resist the little begging puppy face she gave me." he mumbled.

"Ugh, the face." Drew shook his head sympathetically. "I can't resist it either. Well, I'm going to go sit with my friends."

"Oh, Drew?" Ayumu called. "Good luck with your girl problem."

Drew gaped at him for a moment, and spluttered, "Wha- but- how did- you-my girl-"

Ayumu laughed. "Well y'see, Drew, I happen to be a detective. Not to mention the girl I like is the nosiest person on earth."

"Hiyono?" Drew geussed.

"Wh-wha-?" Ayumu asked, blushing furiously. "Hiyono? W-well, she's, um, she's..."

"Yes, Ayumu?" Hiyono asked as she came backstage, handing the mike to Asuna and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm what?"

Ayumu had never been this embarrased in his life. "Uh, well, um, you're..."

"I'll leave you two to chat..." Drew said with a smirk as he turned and walked away, sniggering.

The next time Drew saw Hiyono and Narumi, they were sitting together and holding hands, Hiyono rather red in the face and Ayumu looking as though he were dreaming. That wiped the smile off his face.

Anyway, Drew was still laughing as he took his seat between Bethany and Anonio's empty one.

"You've had quite a mood change," Jack observed, raising an eyebrow.

"You could say that," Drew smiled as Antonio stepped into the spotlight. He held the microphone up to his mouth and began:

_"I set out on a narrow way many years ago  
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road  
But I got lost a time or two  
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through  
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

_I think about the years I spent just passing through  
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you  
But you just smile and take my hand  
You've been there you understand  
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

_Now I'm just rolling home  
Into my lover's arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

_That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you."_

Antonio raised his hand in acknowledgement to the crowd, and excited the stage. He returned to the group's seats, a tiny smile on his face.

"So, were you singing about Catherine?" Bethnay teased. The blush that stained the boy's face was her answer. "That was sweet!"

"Good tactics," Jack grinned. Drew laughed.

"Far better than mine. All I ever did for May was get her mad, and then give her a rose, and then lie and say it was for her _beautifly._" He shook his head in self-disgust. "And now look where we're at- she's got a boyfriend who's not really 'hers' at all and I'm stuck staring at the back of her head."

"You got it bad." Jack commented.

Drew stared at him. "You're just figuring this out NOW?"

Bethany laughed. "Well, I gotta go up." she pulled a tan cowboy hat out of nowhere and put it on her head. Ignoring Drew's and Antonio's snickers, she went up on stage as the lights grew dim.

"What the...?" Drew muttered.

"Bethany's gonna put on quite a show tonight." Jack said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as the starting music played. For a few moments it was soft, but as the drumbeats fell into rhymth, the spotlight shone on her figure, a wide grin on her face. She raised the mike to her lips and sang:

_"Fifteen minutes left to throw me together  
For Mr. Right Now, not Mr. Forever  
Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends  
Lookin' like another, "Maybe we can be friends."  
I've been leaving it up to fate..."_

She winked over at Jack.

_"It's my life so it's mine to make_

_I ain't settlin'  
For just getting by  
I've had enough so-so  
For the rest of my life  
Tired of shooting too low  
So raise the bar high  
"Just enough," ain't enough this time  
I ain't settlin' for anything less than everything_

_With some good red wine  
And my brand new shoes  
Gonna dance a blue streak around my living room  
Take a chance on love, and try how it feels  
With my heart wide open  
Yeah, you know I will  
Find what it means to be the girl  
Who changed her mind  
And changed the world_

_I ain't settlin'  
For just getting by  
I've had enough so-so  
For the rest of my life  
Tired of shooting too low  
So raise the bar high  
"Just enough," ain't enough this time  
I ain't settlin' for anything less than everything_

_I ain't settlin'  
For just getting by  
I've had enough so-so  
For the rest of my life  
Tired of shooting too low  
So raise the bar high  
"Just enough," ain't enough this time_

_I ain't settlin'  
For just getting by  
I've had enough so-so  
For the rest of my life  
Tired of shooting too low  
So raise the bar high_

_I ain't settlin'  
No, no, no, no, no, no  
So raise the bar high, high..."_

In the last, long breath, she pushed her fist up to the ceiling, earing a huge applause from the crowd. She beamed, then quickly handed the microphone to the next singer. She ran back down to the crowd and into the waiting arms of Jack.

"You were great!"

Bethnay laughed. "Thanks! Hey, May's going up after Yuki, let's get back to our seats!"

They returned to Drew and Antonio, hand in hand, and sat down just as May came out onto the stage. She smiled her innocent smile as the beginning music started. Just like with Behtnay's song, it was quiet at first, but it got louder as she sang:

_"Cowboys ride into sunsets  
The good guy always gets the girl  
Cinderella's just fit  
The glass slipper that changed her world  
We all know the stories  
We all know the fairy tales  
We all get the glory  
Of making it for ourselves_

_From the beginning  
We're all looking for a happy ending  
Every dream of winning  
Every love we've been in  
Right from the beginning  
We're looking for a happy ending_

_We come here with nothing  
And take it with us the day we leave  
The first and last breath don't matter  
It's all the ones that are in between  
It's the reason for living  
It's the reason the caged bird sings  
It's why we sit in the movies  
All the way to the closing scene_

_From the beginning  
We're all looking for a happy ending  
Every dream of winning  
Every love we've been in  
Right from the beginning  
We're looking for a happy ending_

_And for all the dreamers who have come and gone  
Who have reached for the stars who have overcome  
You're the hope, you're the wish, you're the truth  
Baby here's the proof  
Baby's born in the ghetto  
Baby's born with a silver spoon  
One tells his mama, "I'll have a dream."  
One tells his mama, "I'll walk the moon."_

_From the beginning  
We're all looking for a happy ending  
Every dream of winning  
Every love we've been in  
Right from the beginning  
We're looking for a happy ending  
From the beginning  
We're all looking for a happy ending  
Every dream of winning  
Every love we've been in  
Right from the beginning  
We're looking for a happy ending..."_

"Oh, that's such a beautiful song!" Bethany gushed. "It's so cool that we sang songs from the same artist!"

"Yeah..." Drew said distantly as he watched her run down the stairs coming from backstage and embrace Joey. He mentally groaned. _We all want a happy ending, but not all of us have it come true._

"Hey, amigo, that was the last performance!" Antonio said, thumping Drew on the back. "Time to go home!"

"Yippee," Drew mumbled as he excited the studio. He walked silently beside Antonio, Jack, and Bethany for a few minutes, but then he heard the sound of two people arguing.

"How can you say that country music is rotten? All of those songs were really sweet!" May was saying to Joey.

Joey snorted. "You think that flowers are sweet."

"They are!" May said, crossing her arms. "You know that my favorite flowers are roses-"

"-like the ones _Drew _gives you?" Joey sneered. Drew felt anger lick the inside of his stomach. So now he was insuting his attempts to flirt with May? As if he thought they were more pathetic than Drew did.

May flushed slightly. "Well- I mean, he's the only person who's ever given me roses!"

Joey rolled his eyes. "Come on, May, isn't it obvious why he gives you roses?"

"Well, he says they're for my pokemon..." May trailed off uncertainly.

"Please, May, you still believe that?" Joey said, faking surprise in his voice once again. "Don't you know the real reason he gave those to you?"

It was clear that Drew was not the only person in their group that was listening in; Antonio was looking over at them out of the corner of his eye, Jack was squinting in their direction, and Bethany had a small frown on her face. Drew held his breath, praying... _Please, PLEASE don't say it's because I have feelings for her..._

"He's just doing it to make fun of you!"

Of all the things he could have said, Drew was pretty sure that that was the last -and worst- thing Joey could have told her. May looked surprised for a second, but then said, "Wh-what makes you think that?"

"Come on!" Joey burst, evidently impatient at his girlfriend's confusion. "What sort of idiot would say that he was giving roses to _someone's pokemon_? He knew that you were a little on the naive side, and did that to confuse you, so you wouldn't do as well in the contests!"

Drew stared at them, his mouth hanging open. That was the craziest thing he had ever heard. He stared at May, hoping she would see that this was a huge, major lie...

"Well... that doesn't sound like him... but I can't argue with that logic..." May said softly.

Drew felt his heart shatter- how could she believe that? As if Drew had ever wanted her to do badly in a contest! A moment later, he felt rage pulsing through his veins as Joey reached over and put an arm around her shoulders. "But don't worry... I'll_ always _be there for you."

Drew looked over at Bethnay. "Can I have your hat?"

Bethany nodded. "I'll have to burn it, but it'll be worth it."

Drew nodded. He took her hat and went over to the couple. "Hey May, hey Joey."

"Oh... hi, Drew." May said quietly. She was looking at him rather uncertainly, as if she didn't know what to think of him anymore. This hurt almost more than Drew could stand.

"Drew," Joey nodded at him, smirking widely. He knew that Drew had heard every word he had said, and was glad to see the tortured look in Drew's eyes.

However, the green haired boy smiled at him. "Just wanted to say, nice job tonight guys." He got ready to go, but he turned back. "Oh, and Joey... thought you might like this. I heard that you really liked country music."

Drew reached over and shoved the hat onto his head, down over his eyes. He spun around and ran off into the night, hearing Joey's yells of shock and pain- the hat was apparently too small.

"Whoops." He said viciously when he stopped. "Looks like the hat was a few sizes off."

He sighed, and started sprinting again, refusing to let the bits of his broken heart fall from his eyes.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo**

_Dun Dun Dun!! Cool!_

_Drew: Can I kill Joey now?_

_Amv: Not yet, Joey's not finished yet!_

_Drew: WHAT?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU DEMENTED WRITER!!_

_Amv: I'm proud! Well, I have to get writing the next chapter. Please review my friends! Please review!_


	10. Day Five: The Rejected Romeo

_Amv: Woot! Let's go, people! I only have... 5 CHAPTERS LEFT!!_

_Drew: Do I get together with May?_

_Amv: -smiles coyly- Maaaaayybe._

_Drew:... I hate you. So much._

_Amv: Luv ya too, Sweetheart! Now get on with the disclaimer!_

_Jack: Fine, fine. Amv doesn't own the songs "Check Yes Juliet" by We the Kings or "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton-_

_Antonio:- nor does she own "Stay My Baby" by Miranda Cosgrove or "Forever" by Chris Brown._

_Drew: And she'll never, ever own pokemon._

_Amv:... now I hate YOU._

**Chapter Ten:**

**Day Five: The Rejected Romeo**

Drew sighed as he stared at the ceiling. His ipod was turned up as loudly as he could stand, blowing out his ears with "Check Yes Juliet," which, of all the songs on the ipod he'd borrowed from Scott, was probably his favorite. It was about one in the morning, and though he had gotten very little sleep the nights before, he wasn't tired. And besides, the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach would've kept him awake anyway.

No matter what angle he looked at it, Drew knew that he was missing something. There was something about Joey's plan that he didn't understand... it was directed at him and May, he knew that much... he had a nagging feeling that Sabrina was, somehow, involved in this... and Joey was dropping so many hints... _"Not when she'll need it"... _What did this mean?

And finally, his mind picking over these maddening hints, his heart pained with knowing that May was losing her faith and trust in him, and purely exhausted, Drew fell into an uneasy sleep.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"ROS! ROSE! ROSELIA ROS! (DREW! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, DREW!!)" The rose pokemon bellowed into Drew's ear. He jolted straight up, sending poor Roselia, who had been standing on his chest, flying across the room.

"NOJOEY'SALIA-" Drew stopped when he saw that May was no where around and that Roselia was slowly picking herself up off the ground.

"Roselia rose rose... (Well, now that I have your attention...)" Roselia mumbled irritably.

"What's up, Rose?" Drew asked, sitting cross-legged on his bed and rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.

"Roselia rose ros rose!! (You have to be at the Studio in fifteen minutes!!)" Roselia shouted.

"What?!" Drew yelped, looking at the time on his cell phone. Sure enough, it was 9:45.

"AARRGGGH!! NOT GOOD!" Drew shouted as he quickly rolled out of bed and changed. He hadn't changed into pajamas last night, so Drew simply changed into a pair of slacks and a dark purple button-up shirt. He quickly brushed his teeth and hair, returned Roselia, grabbed his folder and room key, and ran from the pokemon center to the studio. He made it to his usual seat just in time for Destiny to make her way onto the stage.

"Overslept?" Antonio muttered.

"Just a bit." Drew replied.

"...Great job for the past few days, everyone. We're so proud of you all. Now, for the past challenges you've been able to choose your songs, but you were stuck with the reins of having to be within the topic of your challenge. But today, your reins are being taken away. Today, everyone will be singing your favorite song! Now come on up and grab your music!" Destiny cried, gesturing to the long table behind her.

"...God I hope she recycles that." Bethany said. "Or at least donates the unused paper to charity or a music school."

"It's probably one of the last two." Drew told her as they all went onstage. "Destiny never wasted anything if she could help it."

"Good." Jack said, nodding in approval. He gently squeezed Bethany's hand. "So, what are you thinking of singing?"

She laughed. "No clue. I love so many songs... I'm sure to be the last person to choose."

"If I'm not," a tall, slim girl named Musa said with a grin as she went by, dragging a red-haired boy in her wake.

Bethany laughed and started looking through the nearest stack. Antonio glanced at Drew. "What do you have in mind?"

Drew smiled. "I know _exactly _what to choose. I'll be back in a minute."

He turned and went down the table, to where the songs that began with the letter "C" were piled almost as high as the ceiling.

"I'm scared." Drew mumbled as he slowly tried to tug out a corner, on which he could see, "Check Ye-" but was obscured by the papers on top of it. He pulled and twisted it around, and was very close to freeing it, when a voice nest to him spoke, her voice quiet: "Drew?"

At hearing the girl's voice, he jumped a foot in the air, upsetting to pile and causing it to collapse on top of him, knocking him to the ground. He looked up at May, feeling his cheeks burn. She was wearing a blue, light blue, white, and black abstract pattern shirt that went down to her elbows and black jeans with a silver belt that hung loosely around her waist, making it higher up on one side. She was holding her folder in one hand, and the other was being held up to her mouth to quiet her giggles, so he didn't get mad.

Drew, looking for something else to look at so May wouldn't notice the huge blush on his face, looked at the paper he had been trying to get. "'Check Yes Juliet' by We The Kings. Well, at least I got the song I was looking for. It would've stunk if I'd gotten flattened by a mountain of music stuff for nothing, don't you think?"

At his comment, May couldn't hold it back anymore, and she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she gasped for breath. "I'm so... sorry Drew... I was trying to... talk to you, but... the papers fell on top... of you..."

Drew smiled. "I'm not mad. Here, let me help you up."

May looked at him in confusion for a moment, but took the hand that he offered and was gently pulled to her feet. "Y-you mean... you're not mad that I made you fall over?"

It was Drew's turn to be confused. "Of course not. That's a stupid thing to be mad about. You didn't do it in purpose."

"O-oh." May said, and she slowly took her hand from Drew's. He flushed as he realized that he hadn't let go of her himself, and shouted in his head, '_Drew, you idiot! SHE LIKES JOEY! NOT YOU!'_

"So... you're singing 'Check Yes Juliet?'" May asked, rocking backwards and forwards on her feet.

"Mm? Oh, yeah. What are you singing?" Drew said, feeling even more awkward.

"'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton." May told him with a smile. "I always thought it was a really sweet song."

Drew nodded. "I've heard it once or twice, I thought-"

"There you are May!" Joey said loudly as he came over. Completely ignoring Drew, he said, "Come on, May, let's go practice. I know that you want to do really well."

"Um, okay." May said, taking Joey's hand and walking away. Drew watched her go, secretly hoping, _look back... look back..._

But she didn't.

_DARN IT!!_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"So, what are you singing, Drew?" Antonio asked as they all sat under their usual tree.

"'Check Yes Juliet' by We the Kings." Drew told them.

"Cool. I'm doing 'Forever' by Chris Brown." Antonio grinned.

"I've got 'Stay My Baby' by Miranda Cosgrove." Bethany said, taking the papers out of her folder and making sure they were in the right order. She looked up when she heard Drew and Antonio snickering.

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No." the two boys said at the same time. They hadn't forgotten Bethany's last outburst.

Bethany smiled, knowing that she had won. "So, who's going first?"

Antonio thrust his hand into the air. "Oh, oh, oh!! Pick me, pick me!!"

Drew smacked him on the back of the head. "Grow up by about ten years, and feel free."

Antonio rubbed his head for a moment, and then looked at his music, humming the beginning. A moment later, he started:

_"1, 2, 3, 4...  
Hey (eh)  
Forever  
Hey (eh)  
Forever_

_It's you, and me  
Movin' at the speed of light into eternity (yeah)  
Tonight, is the night  
To join me in the middle of ecstasy  
Feel the melody and the rhythm of the music around you (around you)..."_

He continued for a few minutes, and the other three teenagers gave him a loud applause. Antonio smiled and blew kisses to, Drew was sure, an imaginary Catherine.

"Mind if I go next?" Bethany asked Drew. He shook his head and allowed her to start.

_"Stay my baby  
Stay my baby  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Stay my baby  
Summer love isn't meant to be  
And it's only a fantasy  
That's what everyone's tellin' me  
Stay my baby..."_

She beamed as Jack leaned over and kissed her on the cheek as she finished. The other two were clapping, trying their hardest to not laugh and get her mad.

"Well... I suppose it's my turn now..." Drew muttered. He looked at the beginning and acted like he was strumming a guitar, making the others laugh. He chuckled himself, and began:

_"Check yes Juliet  
Are you with me?  
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk  
I won't go until you come outside..."_

"Nice, Drew!" Antonio said, nodding in approval when the green haired boy was finished.

Bethany clapped with a smirk on her face. "So, does that remind you of _your _Juliet?"

Drew seatdropped. "Ah... well..."

Jack grinned. "I'll take that as a yes. I think you're a better Romeo for her than the other idiot."

Drew shrugged. "Well, it's her decison."

Bethany nodded. "Yeah. I think you're going about this pretty well, Drew. Well, c'mon, Antonio, we still have to practice."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo**

"So, we're all ready?" Jack asked as he slung his arms around his friends' shoulders.

"Let's hope." Antonio joked.

"I'm good to go." Drew said, cracking a small smile. "I can't get the song out of my head."

"Ditto here." Bethany said from Jack's other side.

They arrived at the studio and checked the list, which had shrunk down to only twenty people. As he examined the list, Drew was glad to see that Kyo and Hiyono had made it to tonight. He also saw that he was going eighteenth, May fifteenth, Bethany seventh, and Antonio second.

"Well, you're going pretty early on," Drew said as they sat down five minutes later. "You better get the crowd excited."

Antonio grinned. "You know me. I make everyone pumped up!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, punching the boy on the shoulder. "That's my job."

A few minutes later, Destiny stepped onstage with her microphone. "Good evening, everyone at home! Tonight, just to let our remaining competitors have some fun, we're having them sing their favorite songs! So, ready everyone? Let's hear it for... Hiyono Yuizaki!"

The braided girl came out onto the stage and started singing the song 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You' by the ATeens. As Ayumu walked to the front to cheer her on, he clapped Drew on the shoulder and said, "Drew... thanks."

Drew knew what he meant and smiled up at him. "Anytime, Narumi."

The boy grinned and continued on his way.

A minute later, Antonio came out onto the stage. He smiled to the crowd as the music started. He raised up his hand and counted on his fingers:

_"1, 2, 3, 4...  
Hey (eh)  
Forever  
Hey (eh)  
Forever_

_It's you, and me  
Movin' at the speed of light into eternity (yeah)  
Tonight, is the night  
To join me in the middle of ecstasy  
Feel the melody and the rhythm of the music around you (around you)_

_Ima take you there, Ima take you there  
So don't be scared, I'm right here, you ready  
We can go anywhere  
Go anywhere  
But first, it's your chance  
Take my hand  
Come with me_

_It's like I waited my whole life  
For this one night  
It's gon be me you and the dance floor  
Cuz we only got one night  
Double your pleasure  
Double you fun  
And dance forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever (forever)  
Ever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever on the dance floor_

_Feels like were on another level (ohh ahh)  
Feels like our loves intertwine  
We can be two rebels  
Breakin' the rules  
Me and you  
You and I  
All you gotta do is watch me  
Look what I can do with my feet, baby  
Feel the beat inside  
I'm drivin', you could take the front seat (front seat)  
Just need you to trust me (trust me)  
Girl girl girl  
It's like now_

_It's like I waited my whole life (oh)  
For this one night (one night)  
It's gon be me you and the dance floor (dance floor)  
Cuz we only got one night (ohh)  
Double you pleasure  
Double your fun (yeah)  
And dance forever ever ever (ohh)  
Forever ever ever (ever)  
Forever ever ever (ever)  
Forever (forever)  
Ever ever ever (ever)  
Forever ever ever (ever)  
Forever ever ever (ever)  
Forever on the dance floor_

_It's a long way down  
We so high off the ground  
Sendin' for an angel to bring me your heart  
Girl where did you come from?  
Got me so undone  
Gazin' in your eyes got me sayin'  
What a beautiful lady  
No ifs ands or maybes  
I'm releasin my heart  
And it's feelin' amazing  
There's no one else that matters  
You love me  
And I wont let you fall girl  
Let you fall girl (ahh ohh oh oh yeah)  
Yeah, I wont let you fall  
Let you fall  
Let you fall (ohh ohh)  
Yeah yeah  
Yeah yeah_

_It's like  
It's like I waited my whole life (whole life)  
For this one night (one night)  
It's gon be me you and the dance floor (me you and the dance floor)  
Cuz we only got one night  
Double your pleasure  
Double your fun  
And dance forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever  
Ever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever ever ever  
Forever on the dance floor_

_Ohh oh oh oh oh oh ohhh yeah  
Forever ever ever ever  
Forever ever ohh..."_

The crowd clapped loudly, wolf whistling at him running a hand through his hair as he smiled awkwardly. He walked slowly off stage and returned to his seat next to Drew.

"That was great!" Drew said proudly.

Antonio smiled. "Thanks. You think Cat was watching?"

"I'm sure she was," Bethany said as she walked by to go up. In a few minutes, she was out on the stage, the microphone in her hand as she began:

_"Stay my baby  
Stay my baby  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Stay my baby  
Summer love isn't meant to be  
And it's only a fantasy  
That's what everyone's tellin' me  
Stay my baby  
Even though it's a little rushed  
Let me know that you'll keep in touch  
If you don't it'll hurt too much  
Stay my baby  
Ohh-oh-oh-ohh  
Tell me right now  
Ohh-oh-oh-ohh  
How it's goin' down  
Everything'll be okay!  
Everything'll be alright!  
I know that it'll go my way  
If you stay my baby  
I'm never gonne give you up!  
I'm never gonna have enough!  
So now 'till forever  
Stay my baby!  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh  
Now that I've gone back to school  
All I do is think of you  
Sittin' up here in my room  
Goin' crazy  
But then you call  
Gets me through it all  
Every time you say  
"Stay my baby."  
Everything'll be okay!  
Everything'll be alright!  
I know that it'll go my way  
If you stay my baby  
I'm never gonne give you up!  
I'm never gonna have enough!  
So now 'till forever  
Stay my baby!  
Stay my baby, stay my baby, stay my baby, stay my baby  
Ohh-oh-oh-ohh  
Tell me right now  
Ohh-oh-oh-ohh  
How it's goin' down  
Everything'll be okay!  
Everything'll be alright!  
I know that it'll go my way  
If you stay my baby  
I'm never gonne give you up!  
I'm never gonna have enough!  
So now 'till forever  
Stay my baby!  
Stay my baby, stay my baby, stay my baby, stay my baby  
Stay my baby!  
I'm never gonne give you up!  
I'm never gonna have enough!  
So now 'till forever  
Stay my baby!  
Stay my baby..."_

Bethany blushed as she finished. She hadn't told anyone, but she had picked out that song for Jack, hoping that they would be together for at least a while, if not forever. She handed the microphone to Tohru, and exited the stage, only to run into Jack.

He held up his arms. "Nice job."

Bethany returned the hug, smiling. "Thanks. May's coming up in a few minutes, let's go sit down."

"One second-" Jack grabbed her hand. He slowly stepped closer to Bethany, looking her right in the eye. He leaned in and said, "okay," softly, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She flushed slightly and raised a hend to her cheek, and then smiled widely. "Deal!" They quickly returned to their row before the other two got suspicious as to where they had run off to.

Drew smiled. "Hey, nice one, Bethany."

"Good job," Antonio said.

"Thanks, guys. May's going up next!" Bethany said excitedly, and turned to the stage.

And sure enough, a few minutes later, May walked onto the stage, swaying slightly to the soft piano music. She smiled sweetly, and sang:

_"Making my way downtown, walking fast  
Faces pass and I'm home bound  
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way  
Making a way through the crowd..._

_And I need you  
And I missed you  
And now I wonder_

_If I could fall into the sky  
Do you think time would pass me by  
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles  
If I could just see you  
Tonight_

_It's always times like these when I think of you  
And I wonder if you ever think of me...  
'Cause Everything's so wrong and I don't belong  
Living in your precious memories.._

_'Cause I need you  
And I missed you  
And now I wonder_

_If I could fall into the sky  
Do you think time would pass me by oh  
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles  
If I could just see you...  
Tonight_

_And I..., I...  
Don't want to let you know  
I..., I...  
Drown in your memory  
I..., I...  
Don't want to let this go  
I, I don't..._

_Making my way downtown, walking fast  
Faces passed and I'm home bound  
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way  
Making a way through the crowd..._

_And I still need you  
And I still missed you  
And now I wonder_

_If I could fall into the sky  
Do you think time would pass us by  
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles  
If I could just see you_

_If I could fall into the sky  
Do you think time would pass me by  
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles  
If I could just see you  
If I could just hold you  
Tonight..."_

Drew smiled proudly at her. She couldn't have picked a more beautiful song to sing. But suddenly his stomach gave a jolt. As soon as she finished saying 'Tonight...' had she looked straight at... _him?_

He smiled slightly as he stood up and went onstage, taking deep breaths to get ready for the song and calm his nerves. He took the microphone from Asuna, and went out into the spotlight.

As the familiar music started up, he felt his anxiety disappear, and he was completely at ease as he began:

_"Check yes Juliet  
Are you with me?  
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk  
I won't go until you come outside._

_Check yes Juliet  
Kill the limbo  
I'll keep tossing rocks at your window  
There's no turning back for us tonight._

_Lace up your shoes  
Eh Oh Eh Ohhh  
Here's how we do:_

_Run, baby, run  
Don't ever look back.  
They'll tear us apart  
If you give them the chance.  
Don't sell your heart.  
Don't say we're not meant to be.  
Run, baby, run.  
Forever will be  
You and me._

_Check yes Juliet  
I'll be waiting  
Wishing, wanting  
Yours for the taking.  
Just sneak out  
And don't tell a soul goodbye.  
Check yes Juliet  
Here's the countdown-"_

He held up his hand the way Antonio had, and counted down on his fingers.

_"-3... 2... 1... now fall in my arms  
Now they can change the locks  
Don't let them change your mind_

_Lace up your shoes  
Eh Oh Eh Ohhh  
Here's how we do_

_Run, baby, run  
Don't ever look back  
They'll tear us apart  
If you give them the chance  
Don't sell your heart  
Don't say we're not meant to be  
Run baby run  
Forever will be  
You and me_

_We're flying through the night  
We're flying through the night  
Way up high,  
The view from here is getting better with  
You by my side_

_Run baby run  
Don't ever look back  
They'll tear us apart  
If you give them the chance  
Don't sell your heart  
Don't say we're not meant to be  
Run baby run  
Forever will be..._

_Run baby run  
Don't ever look back  
They'll tear us apart  
If you give them the chance  
Don't sell your heart  
Don't say we're not meant to be  
Run baby run  
Forever I'll be  
You and me  
You and me  
You and me..."_

He couldn't help but smile as he glanced at May for a moment. He waved to the crowd, and retreated backstage. He couldn't help but sing to himself, "Forever will be... you and me..."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

Drew looked out at the dark ocean as he waled beck to the pokemon center that night, its higher waved glittering slightly in the lights on the boardwalk and the bright stars above the city.

Then he caught sight of something that was sure to bring his spirits higher. "May!" He called as he jogged up to the pretty brunette.

"Hm?" May said as she looked up. She didn't sound particuarly happy to see him as she said. "Oh, hi, Drew."

Drew caught on to her sad expression in a moment. "Are you alright, May?"

May shook her head, but told him, "No, I'm fine."

Drew sighed softly, and took a crimson rose out of his pocket. "Will this help you feel better?"

May looked from the rose to Drew, her heart falling. He seemed so sincere... but Joey wouldn't lie to her. (A/N- Uh... yeah he would!)

She gently pushed his hand back toward him. "Sorry, Drew... but keep the rose."

Drew stared at her for a moment, his heart falling; so May really had believed Joey last night...

"O-okay." He said, forcing a smile on his face as he let his arm fall to his side.

"Well, have a good night." May waved slightly and walked away, her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. Drew looked after her, the hand with the rose hanging limply by his side as another phrase of his song went through his head:

_"Don't say we're not meant to be..."_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: That was a fun chapter to write! 'Check Yes Juliet' is my favorite song as of right now. _

_Drew: I really don't like Joey._

_Scorp1029: I don't either. And why haven't you been using me in disclaimers these days?_

_Purpleduckies9: Me, too!_

_Amv: -sweatdrops- Sorry! I'll use you next chapter!_

_Next Chapter: The last peices of Joey's plan fall into place... and Drew didn't figure it out in time! But will Drew ever tell May the truth... about everything?_

_Please review!_

_Drew: -reads chapter preview- Wait... WHAT??_


	11. Day Six:A Broken Promise, A Broken Heart

_Amv: FOUR CHAPTERS TO GO!!_

_Drew: Er, Amv, I've been meaning to ask you something..._

_Amv: Eh? OK, what is it?_

_Drew: I must have read this wrong, but in your last chapter preview, you said that Joey's plan falls into place before I can stop it._

_Amv: Really? -reads that bit over- No, I got that right._

_Drew: WHAT??_

_Scorp1029: Yep! Anyway, Amv doesn't own "Promise" by Simple Plan or "Too Little Too Late" by JoJo-_

_Purpleduckies9: She doesn't own "One Step At A Time" by Jordin Sparks and "Catch Your Wave" by the Click Five!_

_Jack: And she doesn't own pokemon!_

_Amv: Well, this is going to be a fun chapter to write!_

_Drew: FUN??_

_Amv: Enjoy, my friends!_

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Day Six: A Broken Promise, A Broken Heart**

_Why do I have a really bad feeling about today?_ Drew wondered as he walked down the street, heading towards Destiny's recording Studio. The day was slightly overcast, with occasional bursts of sunlight. He was wearing a plain white button up t-shirt and long blue jeans, his emerald folder tucked under his arm.

Ever since he had woken up, he had had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going to go wrong that day. Could he just be acting paranoid? Or was his gut right, and Joey was going to try something new?

"Yo! Amigo!" came Antonio's voice. Drew turned around to see his friend, Jack, and Bethany walking over to him from across the street.

"You all right, Drew?" Jack asked, seeing the green haired boy's troubled expression.

Drew sighed and looked up at the sky. "I don't know what... but something just doesn't feel right. I have this wierd sense that something is going to go wrong today."

"You think so?" Bethany asked, looking at him interestedly. "Well, I hope not."

They continued to walk to the studio in silence, and when they finally sat in their seats ten minutes later, Antonio turned to Drew and said in a low voice, "So... what makes you think something's wrong?"

Drew frowned and looked up at the ceiling. "I-I don't know. Maybe it's intuition, maybe it's just paranoia. Either way, something's telling me that when I get back to my room tonight, I won't be the same as I was leaving it."

"You're being sort of philosical." Antonio said. "Or whatever the word is."

Drew rolled his eyes and laughed lightly. Just then, Destiny walked onstage and called for their attention.

"Well, now, we only have two days left!" Destiny said, holding up two fingers. "And for these last two challenges, we're going to make things a bit harder for you. You see, today you'll get your lyrics, as always, BUT-" she picked up a paper from the table. The words were written in black print, but the lines and spaces above them were blank. "-You'll be writing the melody yourselves."

"WHAT?!" Joey shouted. However, for once, he wasn't the only major protestor. Most of the prople there were mad, too; they clearly had no idea how to write music. As Destiny beat them down, Drew turned to Antonio with a sober expression on his face.

"I have no idea how to write music."

"It's simple." Antonio shrugged. "Doodle a couple notes onto the page, strum them on the guitar, and see if it sounds good."

Drew raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude, you play guitar?"

Antonio shrugged again. "Yeah, no big deal. I learned it for when I'm just sitting around my gym with no trainers to battle."

"Fair enough," Drew grinned, deciding to leave his premonitions as they were for the moment. If anything was going to happen, it would happen, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So... what to sing, what to sing..." Bethany was saying to herself as she studied a few stacks. After a few minutes, she picked out a page and nodded. "I like this," She gave it to Jack for him to see.

The blond boy nodded. "Looks good to me."

"Pff..." Drew blew out air between his teeth. "I am finding absolutely nothing..."

"That's you," muttered a voice Drew never thought would have such an icy tone.

"May!" He said as he spun around. To his surprise, May was surveying him with a cold expression on her face. She was wearing a dark red tank top with a pair of long black jeans. He arms were folded across her chest, her right hand clutching her blue folder and a page of lyrics. "Er... hi."

"Hey," her voice was still cool and distant. "Not finding anything?"

Drew rubbed the back of his head. "Ah... not really. Did you?"

"Yeah," May held up the paper. "It's called 'Too Little Too Late.'"

"Great." Drew said. "I'm going to just keep looking..." He turned away, looking through the stacks of music. Why was that bad feeling he had had earlier returning with even more power now? And why was May acting so... mean? As if she didn't trust him anymore?

_Probably 'cuz she doesn't,_ He thought, his heart plummeting horribly, _After all, everything Joey's been telling her lately, the truths and the lies... she won't even listen to me anymore. Great. So now how am I supposed to keep Max's promise... wait, what was that back there?_ Drew flicked a few papers aside and picked up one entitled "Promise."

Drew nodded as he read the lyrics. In a quiet voice he muttered, "I like this..."

"You found your song?" Antonio asked as he went up to Drew, followed by Jack and Bethany, who was staring at the paper with a world of interest.

"If you looked at that paper any harder, you'd burn a hole through it," Joey commented as he went by with May. Bethany looked up and smacked him hard in the back of the head.

"THAT'S FOR WEARING MY HAT!!" She shouted. A moment later, she returned to her lyrics, acting as if nothing had happened. Antonio, Jack, and Drew glanced at each other, holding their breath so as to not explode with laughter. They turned and left, snickering in spite of themselves. May couldn't help but giggle herself.

Joey rubbed the back of his head, furiously glaring at Drew's retreating figure. _That does it..._

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"So, guys, what do you think of this?" Bethany asked, thoughtfully tapping her temple with her mechanical pencil. "_Da da da... da da daaa... _Okay, no."

Drew sighed. He and his friends had been sitting underneath their usual tree for the past three hours, and only Antonio had gotten the music to his song written. Fine, so he wrote the whole thing in a half hour and was now strumming away on an imaginary guitar as he sang under his breath,

_"...Not givin' in, I'm gonna win, win, win  
I'm gonna win 'cause_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you..."_

Drew sighed as he stared at the sheet, his mind stubbornly blank. It was rather distracting to have Bethany sitting next to you, singing her little "Da's."

"Urgh, it's HOPELESS!" She huffed as she lay back against the tree. "I can't come up with anything! _dadada dadada dadadadadadada.._." She suddenly sat up staright. "Hey, that was cool!" Bethany held up the paper and sang quickly:

_"You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet  
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it  
You know you can if you get the chance  
In your face and the door keeps slamming..."_

She continued with the song, scribbling on the paper as she did. When she was finished, she took a deep breath. "Well, so I guess it wasn't completely hopeless, was it?"

"No," Drew said with a small laugh as he went back to his paper. "I'm still totally lost. I guess I'm not as good with music as the world thinks."

"Naw, don't say that, Drew!" Jack cried, waving a hand. "You can do it! And you don't have to be able to write the music!"

"Huh?" Drew said in confusion, jerking his head up.

"Didn't you know?" Antonio said. "A lot of the best singers there have ever been couldn't read music to save their lives. Like, I think Paul McCartney couldn't read music, and look at Stevie Wonder- he was blind! Just sing the song the way you think it should be done!"

"Really...?" Drew said as he looked at the sheet, thinking carefully. He thought about all of the heartbreak he was enduring, and the anger at how he couldn't stop it, and how he couldn't prtoect May from what he knew was coming, even if he didn't exactly know what it was...

And then somehow, he opened his mouth and started:

_"Breakdown  
I can't take this  
I need somewhere to go  
I need you  
I'm so restless  
I don't know what to do..."_

He went on with the song until he was done and looked up at his friends. They were all watching him, wondering what he thought of that.

Drew grinned widely. "Bethany, can I borrow your pencil? I need to write that down."

Bethany smiled. "Sure thing."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Anyone nervous?" Drew asked as they all walked to the studio that night, the sun making one of its few appearances of the day.

"Extremely," Antonio said as he put his hands behind his head, his purple folder creating a sort of background behind his head. "But it's the good kind of nervous, you know?"

"Mm-hm," Bethany agreed as she swung hers and Jack's hands together.

"You'll all be fine," Jack said with a smile. "I'm glad I'm not doing this. If it were me, I still wouldn't have anything written. Actually, no. If I had been doing this, I'd've been kicked out on the first day."

The other three laughed as they entered the studio. The crowd was smaller than ever, as there were only ten people left. As he checked the list, Drew was rather dismayed to see that his friend, Kyo, was no longer in the competiton, but was happy to see that Ayumu's girlfriend, Hiyono, was still in the running. He also saw that he was going ninth, May would be seventh, Antonio fifth, and Bethany fourth.

"This'll be fun" May said to Joey, nodding happily as she talked to him.

"Are you ready?" Drew asked her. The smile fell off her face when she noticed him standing there, and told him in an expressionless voice, "Yeah. Are you?"

"Um... yes," Drew rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, good luck."

"Sure." She replied, gazing at him with a cool stare. Drew sweatdropped and walked away, an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach. _This is really, really bad. What's going on?_

May watched Drew as he walked away, his eyes on the floor in front of him. She knew that Joey had told her that Drew was nothing but a selfish, manipulating pimple (A/N- A-hem... HYPOCRITE!!), but something about the way he had looked at her a moment ago... _He's probably just a realy good actor,_ She told herself as she sat down.

"Hello, welcome back to another episode of Singing Stars! Would you believe it, we have only ten people and two days left? I don't! Well, anyway, we decided to up the ante a little bit today- We gave the singers the lyrics, but the music was all up to them! So, shall we see what they did with them? Let's see! Everyone, give Miss Hiyono Yuizaki a warm welcome!"

Hiyono rushed out onstage, and sang the song "Make You Mine" very well. She smiled to the cheering crowd (and winked at a blushing, but pleased, Ayumu) and handed the microphone off to Bethany, who gave her a good-sported high five. Bethany smiled as she stepped into the lights, and the drumbeats started.

_"Hurry up and wait  
So close, but so far away  
Everything that you've always dreamed of  
Close enough for you to taste  
But you just can't touch_

_You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet  
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it  
You know you can if you get the chance  
In your face and the door keeps slamming  
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated  
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting_

_We live and we learn to take  
One step at a time  
There's no need to rush  
It's like learning to fly  
Or falling in love  
It's gonna happen and it's  
Supposed to happen that we  
Find the reasons why  
One step at a time_

_You believe and you doubt  
You're confused, you got it all figured out  
Everything that you always wished for  
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours  
If they only knew_

_You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet  
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it  
You know you can if you get the chance  
In your face and the door keeps slamming  
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated  
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting_

_We live and we learn to take  
One step at a time  
There's no need to rush  
It's like learning to fly  
Or falling in love  
It's gonna happen and it's  
Supposed to happen that we  
Find the reasons why  
One step at a time_

_When you can't wait any longer  
But there's no end in sight  
When you need to find the strength  
It's the faith that makes you stronger  
The only way we get there  
Is one step at a time_

_Take one step at a time  
There's no need to rush  
It's like learning to fly  
Or falling in love  
It's gonna happen and it's  
Supposed to happen that we  
Find the reasons why  
One step at a time  
One step at a time  
There's no need to rush  
It's like learning to fly  
Or falling in love  
It's gonna happen and it's  
Supposed to happen that we  
Find the reasons why  
One step at a time"_

She smiled to the cheering crowd, and skipped of stage. She met Jack at the bottom of the staris, as usual. She hugged him tightly, feeling herself blush.

"One step at a time, eh?" Jack asked with a smile as they broke apart.

"Yeah..." Bethany said. She smiled back. "It's a lot like us, now that I really think about it. First we were friends, then we became... well, more."

"You're right," Jack said quietly, taking a step closer to her. Bethany giggled to herself when she realized where this was going.

"It's like learning to fly... or falling in love..." She murmured as Jack brought his face closer to hers. Bethany stood up on her tiptoes, slowly closing her eyes and her nose brushed against his-

"Hey, guys- WOAH!!" Antonio cried as he rounded the corner. He blushed heavily as the other two pulled apart. "Ah, sorry, am I interupting something?"

"What do you think?" Jack mumbled. Raising his voice, he said, "No, of course not."

"Heh heh," Antonio muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. Bethany shot him a look that could kill. Noticing this, he said, "Well, I gotta go, nice job Bethany!" He ran past the couple as fast as he could, Bethany and Jack looking after him.

"There goes the moment." Jack said as he and Bethany sat down next to Drew. Judging from the fact that Bethany was still rather red, and Antonio still looked a little creeped out at what he had just seen, he figured that he had caught Bethany and Jack kissing or about to kiss. Great.

Antonio nodded to the music as it filled the room. A moment later, he started:

_"In the middle of the night  
That's when you caught my eye  
I chased you round in memories  
Through the breeze and the trees and you teased me  
But hey_

_The clock's turning around  
And you're still playing these games  
It's such a waste to bring me down, down, down  
Don't bring me down 'cause_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you  
Hey girl, you've got an undertow  
Hey girl, hey girl, don't wanna let you go_

_When I turned sixteen  
That's when I started to dream  
I chased you 'round in memories  
Through the breeze and the trees and you teased me  
But hey_

_Well every princess has her knight  
And I'm still in it for the fight  
Not givin' in, I'm gonna win, win, win  
I'm gonna win 'cause_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you  
Hey girl, you've got an undertow  
Hey girl, hey girl don't wanna let you go_

_I'm never gonna let you go_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you  
Hey girl, you've got an undertow  
Hey girl, hey girl, don't wanna let you_

_Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave  
Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you  
Hey girl, you've got an undertow  
Hey girl, hey girl, don't wanna let you  
Hey girl, hey girl don't wanna let you go  
I'll never let you go  
Alright!"_

Antonio punched his fist into the air as he finished, the room applauding as loudly as twenty people could. (A/N- Yes, I know that there are only ten people still SINGING, but there are a couple extra people who are staying to support their friends. Take Jack, for example) He smiled to the camera, and stepped off stage.

"Nice job," Bethany said with a smile, after giving him a look that said 'if you tell anyone anything that you saw ever, I will kill you.'

Antonio sweatdropped. "Thanks!"

"That was really good!" Jack said, patting Antonio on the back.

"Great," Drew said. "I'm going up to get ready for my song."

Drew stood up and slowly walked backstage, thinking the rhythm over in his head. He sighed as he wondered whether or not that was quite the right music for that type of song. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he saw that May was standing next to the curtain as she prepared to go next, biting the nails on her right hand.

"Are you nervous?" Drew asked as he approached her. May jumped slightly, and turned to face him. Drew could see that, though she had arranged her face to remain indifferent, her sapphire eyes held a mixture of emotions; confusion, guilt, pain... and, of course, anxiety.

"No." She lied, quickly breaking the eye contact.

Drew smirked slightly. "If it helps you feel better, I'm scared out of my mind."

May spun around. "You?"

"'Course I am," Drew told her, digging his hands into his pockets. "I've been nervous every time I went up this week. Singing isn't exactly in my comfort zone."

"But... you never seemed nervous, or unsure, or anything. You always acted calm and collected, like you always are."

Drew laughed to himself. _If you knew how I've been feeling for the past week, you'd know that I'm certainly neither calm nor collected._ "I suppose I'm just good at hiding my real emotions."

May's eyes suddenly seemed cold and distant. She looked out on the stage as Asuna finished, and said, "Yeah... really good."

She accepted the mike from the girl and went out onto the stage. As the music started up, May glanced over at him as she started:

_"Come with me  
Stay the night  
You say the words but boy it don't feel right  
What do you expect me to say (You know it's just too little too late)  
You take my hand  
And you say you've changed  
But boy you know your begging don't fool me  
Because to you it's just a game (You know it's just too little too late)"_

Drew's blood ran cold as he realized; May was singing about him.

_"So let me on down  
'Cause time has made me strong  
I'm starting to move on  
I'm gonna say this now  
Your chance has come and gone  
And you know..._

_It's just too little too late  
A little too wrong  
And I can't wait  
But you know all the right things to say (You know it's just too little too late)  
You say you dream of my face  
But you don't like me  
You just like the chase  
To be real  
It doesn't matter anyway (You know it's just too little too late)_

_Yeah yeaaahhh... It's just too little too late... Mhmmm_

_I was young  
And in love  
I gave you everything  
But it wasn't enough  
And now you wanna communicate (You know it's just too little too late)  
Go find someone else  
In letting you go  
I'm loving myself  
You got a problem  
But don't go asking me for help  
'Cause you know..._

_It's just too little too late  
A little too wrong  
And I can't wait  
But you know all the right things to say (You know it's just too little too late)  
You say you dream of my face  
But you don't like me  
You just like the chase  
To be real  
It doesn't matter anyway (You know it's just too little too late)_

_I can love with all of my heart, baby  
I know I have so much to give (I have so much to give)  
With a player like you I don't have a prayer  
That's no way to live  
Ohhhh... mmm nooo  
It's just too little too late  
Yeaahhhh..._

_It's just too little too late  
A little too wrong  
And I can't wait  
But you know all the right things to say (You know it's just too little too late)  
You say you dream of my face  
But you don't like me  
You just like the chase  
To be real  
It doesn't matter anyway (You know it's just too little too late)_

_Yeah  
You know it's just too little too late  
Oh, I can't wait_

_It's just too little too late  
A little too wrong  
And I can't wait  
But you know all the right things to say (You know it's just too little too late)  
You say you dream of my face  
But you don't like me  
You just like the chase  
To be real  
It doesn't matter anyway (You know it's just too little too late)"_

As May finished the song, she glanced at Drew again, who was feeling strangely unreal at the moment, as if he was dreaming, in a terrible nightmare... so this settled it, May had totally lost all faith in him. She thought he was a liar, and had given her roses to mock her, and whatever else Joey had told her about him. May slowly exited the stage, handed it to the next singer, and left the room without looking Drew's way once.

Drew looked up at the sky. _Okay, so this is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me. God, can we work together on this? Can you help me please, please convince May of the truth? Thanks._

"Yo." said a voice. Drew looked down to see a boy looking up at him through a curtain of dark blue hair, his crimson eyes seeming to see everything going on in Drew's mind.

"Yeah?" Drew asked.

"You like that girl?" He jerked his head off in the direction May had gone.

"Is it that obvious?" Drew asked raising his eyebrow. The kid looked like he was ten or eleven.

"Yeah. I saw her with that silver haired loser guy." The boy sounded pretty bored, but he frowned slightly as he said, "He pushed Mikan to the ground as he came backstage. Why, if Luca and Narumi held me back, I would've toasted him to a crisp."

"Do you have anger management problems?" Drew said, looking at him uneasily.

"Yes, I do. But anyone will tell you that I'm very protective of the ones I love." The boy said. "By the way, it's your turn."

"Oh," Drew accepted the microphone and went out into the spotlights, thinking, _That kid was kind of creepy._

The rock music started up, the bass pounding in Drew's chest. He then remembered Antonio's advice: "Sing the song the way you think it should be done."

_I'll do just that then_, Drew thought as he started:

_"Breakdown  
I can't take this  
I need somewhere to go  
I need you  
I'm so restless  
I don't know what to do_

_'cause we've had our rough times  
Been fighting all night  
And now we're just slippin' away  
So you'll give me this chance  
To make the wrongs right, to say…"_

He yanked the microphone out of its stand and punched the air as he said the words:

_"Don't, don't, don't walk away  
I promise  
I won't let you down (you down)  
If you take my hand tonight  
I promise  
We'll be just fine  
This time  
If you take my hand tonight  
If you take my hand tonight"_

He looked straight into May's eyes as he sang:

_"Without you  
I go through the motions  
Without you  
It's just not quite the same  
Without you  
I don't wanna go out  
I just wanted to say"_

He then walked across the stage, still singing out to the crowd. Wow. There really was something to be said for getting into the music. The entire crowd was on its feet, raising their hands in the air as they danced to the music. Even May was on her feet, though she was refusing to acknowledge that fact that she really liked his perfomance.

_"That I'm sick of these fights  
I'll let you be right  
If it stops you from running away  
So just give me this chance  
To make the wrongs right  
To say_

_Don't, don't, don't walk away  
I promise  
I won't let you down (you down)  
If you take my hand tonight  
I promise  
We'll be just fine  
This time  
If you take my hand tonight"_

He held out his hand to the crowd and laughed slightly at the fact that they all reached out to him, as if he were some really big rockstar.

_"Take my hand  
Take my hand (I promise)  
Take my hand (I promise)  
Take my hand  
Go!"_

The electric guitar solo came around; this had been Antonio's idea, though Drew himself had actually written it. He'd had no idea that it would sound that cool. He placed the microphone back into the stand and leaned on it slightly, so that it was tilted back. Then he sang into the sudden silence:

_"I promise  
I won't let you down (you down)  
If you take my hand tonight"_

The music started up again, blasting louder and even better than before.

_"I promise  
We'll be just fine  
This time  
If you take my hand tonight  
If you take my hand tonight_

_I won't let you down  
So take my hand tonight"_

He finished the song sharply, the crowd screaming in applause. Even the cameramen and set crew were clapping. Destiny was close to tears, she was so proud. This embarrased him slightly. He looked hopefully over at May, who was looking at him with a mixture of confusion and hostility. Drew looked up at the sky and thought, _Thanks_, sarcastically.

He walked backstage to see the creepy boy from earlier. He nodded at Drew. "Good one."

"Thanks. Good luck-"

"Natsume."

"Alright then." Drew nodded at him as Natsume went out onstage. He himself went back down to his row with Antonio, Jack, and Bethany.

"Great job, amigo!" Antonio said, clapping Drew on the back.

Drew smiled slightly. "Thanks, Antonio. Thanks guys."

Bethany smiled. "Hyuuga Natsume is the last singer. After him, they're going to tell us the five finalists, and then we can go home."

"Great." Drew said as Natsume finished singing "Just So You Know" (A/N- the Jesse McCartney version. Who would've thought?? XD)

"Great job everyone!" Destiny said as she stepped back onto the stage, a sheet of paper in her hand. "Well, now is when you'll know our five finalists. You finalists should know that you need to be here tomorrow morning at nine am, okay? Don't forget: NINE A.M. Got it? Great. You should also know that tomorrow night, you'll all be standing in this little clearing in between the judges' table and the stage. The area you're sitting in now will be occupied by a live audience."

Drew and Antonio looked at each other in horror. Bethany choked on a sip of water, and Joey cursed a few times.

"Oh, and your friends and family will turn up here at ten, you understand? And now, without further ado, the names of our top five singers and our finalists! In fifth place, and going first tomorrow night... Joey Graystone!" Destiny looked about as happy saying his name as Drew did hearing it.

"How did he get this far?" Jack muttered.

"Maybe he bribed the judges," Bethany suggested.

"Wouldn't put it past him." Antonio agreed. "Drew, come back to earth, they're naming the fourth place person."

Drew returned from his state of shock to hear Destiny say, "... and in fourth place, singing second tomorrow night, will be Antonio Maleke!"

Antonio grinned. "Great! can't wait!"

Destiny smiled. "Now, in third place, singing third tomorrow night, will be Bethany Anderson!"

Bethany blushed as Jack leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and lay her head on his shoulder as Destiny read:

"Second place, singing fourth... will be May Maple!"

Drew smiled and applauded loudly, but the smile he had had fell away quickly as Joey leaned over and kissed _her_ on the cheek. May held up a hand to her face, but as her back was to him, Drew couldn't see her facial expression.

Destiny smiled even more than before. "And now... last, but most certainly not least -after all, they're in first- in first place, singing last of the five tomorrow night... Drew Maxwell!"

"No surprises there!" Antonio shouted over the storm of cheers that erupted at that announcment. Drew smiled. "I'm kind of tired. I'm going home, see all of you tomorrow."

He left the studio, a huge relief from the crowded, loud, and rather stuffy room. He put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the ocean, thinking...

Drew ought to feel excited, elated at the fact that he wasn't just a stupid pretty boy, that he could do something more than coordinating... but then again, he _ought_ to have told May how he felt years ago. He _ought_ to tell her that Joey was lying. He _ought_ to be her boyfriend...

And he hadn't and wasn't.

After a few minutes, he heard the sound of someone running be hind him. Drew stopped and turned around, and was shocked to see May.

"May?" he asked, "Wh-what do you want?"

May looked at him angrily. "You don't have to say it like that, you know!"

"Y-you're right, May." Drew looked at his feet. "I hadn't meant for that to come out like that. I'm sorry."

"Wow, and I thought my brother was the biggest BSer ever," said a voice. Drew spun around to see Joey walking towards him, his hands dug into his pockets, smiling coolly.

"And I thought my sister was," Drew said sarcastically, "But maybe it's the acting lessons..."

"Drew, Drew..." Joey said swiftly, shaking his head. "Why must you always resort to anything to be the best?"

"'Resort to anything?'" Drew quoted, narrowing his eyes. "What exactly are you getting at here?"

"Oh, nothing..." Joey smirked. "I'm just talking about your cooridinating _tactics_." he lightly emphasised the word 'tactics.'

"And what exactly does _'tactics'_ mean?" Drew asked, stressing the word the way Joey had. Though he was keeping a cool composure on the outside, inside, he was feeling like something was slowly squeezing his throat, making it hard to breathe.

"I mean... your cheating strategies."

Drew stared at him as those words sunk in. May was staring at him as if she had never seen him clearly before. His voice shook slightly as he protested, "I've never cheated on anything in my life. I don't need to cheat."

"Drew..." said a soft voice. Drew tirned to see its source- May.

He looked into her eyes as she looked into his. And in one heartstopping, terrible moment, Drew realized; May believed Joey.

"May," he whispered, "You don't believe that, do you?"

"Why not?" May breathed. Tears seemed to be choking her throat. "Everything else Joey's said about you has been true! Why not this?"

"I've known you for three years-!"

"But I didn't know _you_," May said. Cold, hard fury was the only expression on her face. She took a step back, shaking her head. "I never knew you at all, Drew. Just leave me alone from now on."

"But- no, May!" Drew called after her as she turned and ran down the street, his hand stretched out to her, a hand she would never take... She rounded a corner and was gone.

Drew looked after her for a moment, then turned to Joey. Pure rage was pounding through his veins.

_"That was completely uncalled for, Graystone!!"_ Drew shouted.

Joey smiled widely. "Aw, is the poor wittle boy abowt to cwy?" he sniggerd. "Grow up, Drew. Real men don't cry."

"Why did you do that?" Drew repeated. He clenched his fists, about to punch him, but what Joey said stopped him.

"It was all part of the 'plan' May's little brother told you about. Oh yes," He nodded. "I was listening. I would think that you would be smart enough to figure me out, but you weren't. It's too late, and now phase two can begin."

"What are you planning?" Drew spat.

"It's quite simple, you see," Joey said smoothly. "Figure out a way to make May think that she loved me more than you, break your spirit, now all I have to do is break May down."

Drew felt as if he was paralyzed. Joey noticed this and laughed. "My girlfriend -my real girlfriend, that is- is preparing to enter the Grand Festival, and she was going to win. No matter what. And the only thing standing in her way was two people- May Maple and Drew Maxwell. So a scheme was created- just as I said, make May fall in love with me, and then slowly turn her against you. I would've done it more gradually, but when the stupid little brat warned you about me, I knew I had to kick it into gear. Soon then I was presented the perfect opportunty- this singing contest. Sure, I had to deal with acting like I liked the naive idiot, but it was worth it. After all, the plan has worked. Well, most of it."

"It won't work," Drew snarled as he pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. "I'm about to press my first speed dial and tell May everything-"

"Do you really think she'll want to hear anything from you right now?" Joey asked. Drew stared at him and his hear plummeted to the center of the earth as he realized that what Joey had been planning had worked. May hated him. She no longer wanted a thing to do with him. And she wan't coming back anytime soon.

"See?" Joey said softly. "You've lost, Drew." And at that, Joey turned and continued on his way.

Drew stared after him, feeling the entire world crash down on top of his head.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_About Fifteen Minutes Earlier..._

May threw herself onto the bed and pounded her pillow. Drew. That... stupid, cruel, backstabbing, idiotic, rude, lying, manipulating... UGH! May grabbed her yellow waist pack and dumped it out on her bed. She very quickly found what she had been looking for: the red roses Drew had mockingly given her in the past. She looked at each of them, remembering the story of time she got one of these. Suddenly, inexplicably, hot tears rose in May's eyes.

"W-what-?" May asked, wiping them away, "Me? Crying over someone like DREW? That jerk? He's not worth the tears. I never even knew him! He's hated me all along!" No matter what May told herself, these tears kept rolling down her cheeks. "I need girl advice." She said quietly, going over to her phone and typing in the number.

A red-headed girl appeared on the screen. "Hi May! Great job in the compet- what's wrong?" Misty Waterflower's voice turned from cheery to serious when she saw May's tears. May told her eveything that Joey had told her, from the very beginning. In the end, Misty looked very shocked.

"I don't get it! Why am I crying over a jerk like him?" May furiously asked.

"Well..." Misty thought hard. Finally she said calmly, "In all honesty May, I highly doubt Drew would ever do anything like that. But I wonder: why would Joey tell you something like that?"

May looked at her angrily. "I have to go." she said abruptly. She set the phone down roughly. "What is wrong with me?" May asked herself. She caught sight of the roses resting on her bed. May snatched them up, and without looking at them, dumped them in the trash.

She lay back onto the bed, still sobbing. She couldn't believe that she had once liked that boy... but she hadn't merely liked him, she had _loved_ him... how could she have been so wrong about him? How could she have been so stupid to fall for his prank, the game he had played with her heart for three years?

Hiccupping slightly, May reached over and picked up the diary she had kept when she was twelve years old. She turned to Friday, July 15. She wiped her eyes, and read the day she had first met the boy named Drew Maxwell.

_Tuesday, July 15_

_AAARRRGGGHHH!! Today was one of the most frustrating days EVER!! You know what happened? I met this one guy- I think his name was Drew. Okay, so I remembered his name was Drew. I also remember that his hair is as green as his eyes; both were a dark shade of emerald. And -gosh, I hope Max doesn't read this- he was really, really cute. Especially when he smirks._

_But, that's all I like about him! He was so MEAN!! I had just been practicing with Beautifly to get ready for the contest, but her gust blew a little too hard, and one of the pink frisbees I was practicing with soared toward him. He caught it, so it's not like he was hurt or anything, and I apologized, but then he said, "Don't tell me you're planning on entering the pokemon contest with a cheesy act like that!" I mean, seriously! How RUDE is that?_

_And then he comes over and insults my pokemon, but when I went over to give him a piece of mind, he just held up his hand and told me to "calm down, little girl!" I'M HIS AGE!!_

_Well, fast forward a few hours: T.R. tried to steal Ash's pikachu (I wonder when they're going to figure out THEY'RE NOT GOING TO CATCH HIM), Drew actually comes out of nowhere and helps us!! Who would have thought? And then later, we were watching these fireworks, and then I look around and he's staring at ME!! OMG!!_

May smiled at the entry. She continued reading, and found the time she had written about the first rose Drew had given her:

_...Okay, so you know Drew? I think he kinda-sorta likes me. Y'see, after my appeal, I was sitting alone, and then this -would you belive it?- ROSE was stuck in my face, and I looked up to see that Drew was holding it out to me. For a second, I thought that he was playing around, but the look in his eyes told me that he wasn't messing with me..._

"Yes he was..." May whispered, tears leaking down her face again. "Every time he was playing." She continued reading, until she reached the Kanto Grand Festival and met Soledad.

_...I think I really have a chance with him!! With Drew!! Today, I met this girl named Soledad and she told me that -and I QUOTE!!- "I've heard so much about you from Drew."_

_And then later, when we were at dinner (We'd invited her to come with us earlier) Soledad told me: "Well, you know Drew- He's the type who never listens to anyone. So we just talk about other coordinators we've battled or watched. And after a while, he started in on you. YOU and only ever YOU."_

_"What?" I gasped, trying to keep my cool._

_"Well... as you've gotten stronger, I think Drew's gotten feelings for you_

May slammed the book shut and threw it across the room. It slammed into the wall and fell into the trash on top of the roses. She pulled her knees up to her chest, the tears coming down as steadily as the rain, making the mascara she had applied that morning run down her face in black streaks.

"I-I don't get it," May whispered, trying vainly to stop the flow. "I love Joey, finding out that Drew hates me... it should mean nothing... I should think that it's his loss... And it is... but why... so, why..." She looked out the window, into the starry sky.

"...Why does it feel like a part of me just died?"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo**

Drew slowly opened the door to his room and sat on the bed. He was so shocked that he couldn't even cry. Instead, he was trembling with shock as he slumped on the floor next to the bed, his back leaning against it. So, he had not been paranoid that day. He was completely different than he had been when he left the room that morning. He was a thousand times worse.

Okay, this was more like a good news-bad new moment.

Good News: He made it to the finals of the singing competition.

Bad News: He couldn't care less.

Good News: He had been right about Joey being nothing but a jerky, lying snake.

Bad News: He had broken Max's promise and hadn't figured out Joey's plan in time.

Good News: He at least knew what Joey was planning on doing.

Bad News: May no longer trusted him to tell the truth.

The bad news definitely outweighed the good. May thought that Drew had never cared for her, and that was the exact oppsite of his real feelings. She didn't know that he had always wanted nothing less than the best for her, and that he had always tried to be there for her, and that whenever he had teased her...

"Not seeing that loving her... that's w hat I was trying to do..." Drew whispered to the ceiling.

**_xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo_**

_Amv: -yawns- I've been writng that all day._

_Drew: -eye twitches- Amv. Run. Now._

_Amv: -sweatdrops- Well, I'll just have you guys finish this up. Bye! -runs off, with Drew following and making oaths to kill her-_

_Jack: Does anyone want to kill Joey?_

_Misty/Bethany: -Misty holds up megametalmallet3000 and Bethany holds up a chain saw- YES!!_

_Scorp1029: NO! NOT YET! We need him until the end of this story!!_

_Purpleduckies9: Next Chapter: Though Drew's heart and spirit is broken, he refuses to give up on his love for May! And, Joey finally slips up, providing Drew with bulletproof evidence as to Joey's true colors! Can you geuss how? It's in this chapter, but Amv cleverly hid it!!_

_Scorp1029: So stay tuned and don't forget to REVIEW!_


	12. Day Seven: What Hurts The Most

_Amv: THREE CHAPTERS TO GO!!_

_Purpleduckies9: Do we see what happens with May and Drew in this chapter?_

_Amv: No, that's the next chapter._

_Drew: THE NEXT ONE?! _

_Amv: Yes. The next one. My disclaimers:_

_Jack: Amv doesn't own the songs "Cold As You" by Taylor Swift or "Homeboy" by JoJo._

_Antonio: She doesn't own "Just the Girl" by the Click Five or "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts._

_Scorp1029: Last, and certainly least, she DOESN'T OWN POKEMON!!_

_Amv: -glares- I'll be mad about that later. For now, enjoy the chapter!_

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Day Seven: What Hurts The Most**

_"Run, baby, run  
Don't ever look back.  
They'll tear us apart  
If you give them the chance.  
Don't sell your heart.  
Don't say we're not meant to be..."_

"Urgh..." Drew mumbled as he flipped open his phone. (A/N- since that's his favorite song, he made it his ringtone) "Hello?"

"Amigo, you up? We have to be at the Studio early today. Nine o'clock, remember?" Antonio said.

"What time is it?" Drew asked blearily as he turned to see the clock. It was eight fifteen. "Never mind, I see it. I'll meet you and the others outside the Pokemon Center, 'kay?"

"Sure... are you alright, Drew?" Antonio sounded worried.

Drew bit his lip as a tear slid down his cheek. "I'm fine." He hung up without another word.

Drew rolled out of bed and quickly showered. He put on a dark green, button up t-shirt and long, dark blue jeans and his (and my!) favorite black-and-navy striped jacket. He went outside to meet Antonio, Jack, and Bethany.

"Hey, Drew." Bethany said. She was wearing a red off the shoulders shirt with gold gloss flowers on it and long dark blue jeans.

"Why did we have to get up this early?" Jack complained as he ran a hand through his hair. He was wearing tan shorts with a brown shirt with two stick figures cowering from some wierd flying thing that read_, "It's All Fun And Games Until The Flying Monkeys Attack."_

"You don't look too good," Antonio observed as he examined his friend. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a dark red jacket over it, and black jeans.

Drew shook his head and waved his hand airily. "No, I'm fine! C'mon, we have to get to the-!"

"Man, we're not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on," Jack said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Antonio told us you sounded depressed before you came out. Our friends are more important than any stupid singing contest."

Drew looked from him to Bethany to Antonio and sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll tell you on the way."

As they walked down the streets to the studio, Drew retold the story of Joey's plan finally falling into place, and May no longer wanting to even aknowledge his exsistence.

It wasn't until they had sat down in their usual seats when the others could speak through their shock. Drew closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the chair's spine. Retelling the story had made him feel even worse; it forced him to accept the fact that he wasn't in some miserable, very realistic nightmare.

"Wait... let me get this straight," Bethany said, forcing her voice to remain quiet. "He did all of that... so his girlfriend could do something as mundane as_ win the Grand Festival?!"_

"Yep." Drew nodded sadly.

"That's disgusting!" Jack said, looking revolted. Antonio nodded in agreement.

Drew sighed. "And I can't even tell her the truth. About_ anything!!" _He clenched his fist tightly, fighting the tears that were filling up his eyes. He was sick of crying... it was time for some action. He wasn't going to just stand by and let May get her heart broken. After all, she was even more sensitive than Drew, and look at what happened to him.

Drew was sommoned from his thoughts by a nudge in the ribs from Antonio. He looked to the door to see May and Joey entering the room. Drew couldn't help but stare; she was wearing the halter-strapped dress, but she must have found some way of shortening it, as it only fell to her mid-thigh and had dark blue jeans underneath them. However, May didn't so much as glance his way as she went to her seat, facing the stage.

Drew sighed as he also turned his attention to the stage, where Destiny had stepped up to the microphone and was holding up a hand for quiet. He lookede at the table behind her, and was surprised to see that there was only a few sheets of paper on it.

Destiny smiled. "Ah, yes. I'm sure you've noticed that we have about fifty pounds less paper on this table than we usually do. Well, there's a simple reason for that- because the songs you're going to sing haven't been written yet. _You're _going to write the songs you will sing tonight. The best three people will win the competition. Oh, and your friends and family will be here in about five minutes' time, so come up and grab some paper."

Drew, Antonio, and Bethany exchanged looks of shock. In unison they cried, "We're_ writing_ the song?"

"Nice three-part harmony." Joey sniggered as he walked by. However, May stopped.

"Nice job, Bethany, Antonio." She smiled. Then she ran after Joey, completely ignoring the fact that Drew had also been present. He sighed as he remembered her words: _"Just leave me alone from now on."_

Drew took a blank sheet of paper and ran a hand through his hair. It had been hard enough coming up with the rhythm for "Promise" yesterday, but now he had to do that _and_ write the song?

"You have any good ideas?" he asked Antonio glumly.

Antonio shook his head. "Nope."

"Hey! Antonio! ANTONIO!!" called a voice.

Drew and Antonio turned to see two people running across the stage towards them. The boy was tall and tanned, with wavy brown hair that framed his face and somehow complemented his gray eyes. He was wearing a green and white striped polo shirt and tan pants. He went up to Antonio and they did that 'man hug' thing. (A/N- you know, when they high-five each other and clasp each others' shoulders) The girl stood back and watched. Her orange-blonde hair fell halfway down her back, her light brown eyes framed with a pair of burgundy glasses. She was wearing a plae pink t-shirt with lighter pink and white stripes on it, and long faded blue jeans.

"Brick! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? It's a weeks' journey from the Orange Islands!" Antonio was saying happily.

"We wanted to surprise you." The girl said. Antonio smiled, then turned to Drew. "Drew, this is my best friend, Brick Lars, and his, er, _friend, _Michelle Reinolds."

"Hi!" the girl said with a smile. "Cat should be here in a minute."

Antonio blushed noticably. "C-Cat's here?"

"'Course she is!" Brick laughed. "She wasn't going to miss seeing you for anything!"

Drew laughed as Antonio blushed even harder. "If I'm not right, tell me, but is that her coming over?"

"What?" Antonio asked, spinning around to see the direction in which Drew was looking. A girl was walking over to them, her dark brown hair carefully cut and angled so that it swept away from her face without her having to do anything. Her amethyst eyes were bordered by her square purple glasses. She was wearing a v-neck, elbow length purple shirt with long black jeans. A silver spiral necklace was around her neck, with matching earing dangling from her ears. "H-h-h-hi, Catherine."

Catherine Ricks smiled slightly, flushing. "Um, hi, Antonio."

The boy stared. "Did you just call me by my first name? All you ever did was refer to me as 'Maleke.'"

Cat shrugged nonchalantly. "I was going to be nice to you for the first fifteen minutes I saw you, then I'm going right back to myself."

Antonio smiled. "Okay." He held up his arms slightly, inviting her in. Cat rolled her eyes and gave him a quick hug. She pulled away, blushing.

Drew mentally slapped himself on the forehead_. Hello, miserable broken heart here! Please show a little restraint! Okay, that's stupid. They're free to do whatever they want, never mind me_. He smiled at Antonio's cranberry red face.

"Hey guys!" Bethany said as she came over, holding a sheet of paper. "How's it going?"

"Oh- I almost forgot!" Antonio cried. "This is Drew, and this is Bethany."

"Hi!" Bethany said happily. Suddenly she noticed the less than friendly look she was recieving from Catherine. She smiled as Jack came over to them. She took his arm and lay her head on his shoulder. "And _this_ is my boyfriend, Jack."

Cat stared at her for a moment. Bethany winked. Cat suddenly looked very sheepish and embarrased, and grinned back awkwardly. "Hi! Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah!" Bethany walked over and put her arms around the girls' shoulders. "We're gonna be best friends!"

"Fine by me!" Michelle cried, slinging her arm over the other two girls. They all laughed as May came by.

"Hey, May!" Bethany called. "We're all going to go write our songs, wanna come with?"

"Sure!" May said happily, walking over, and putting her arm around Cat's shoulders.

"Tohru! Hiyono!" May called. "Want to come!"

"Yes!" the two girls replied. Then the group of what had gone from three to six girls ran off, laughing and joking as if they had known each other all their lives.

The boys all sweatdropped. Brick wondered, "Were we just ditched?"

"Looks like it." Jack said with a frown. The boys all hmph'd and muttered, _"Women!"_

"What about us?" asked a voice that Drew found familiar. He turned around and was surprised to see Misty, Ash, Max, and Brock making their way across the stage.

"Guys! What're you doing here?!" Drew gasped.

"What d'ya think, Drew?" Ash asked, grinning widely. "To see May and you sing!"

"Now you mention it..." Brock looked around. "Where is May?"

"She ran off with a bunch of girls." Drew explained.

"Really? I'm going to go find her!" Misty said, running past the boys and vanishing around the corner.

"Wierd..." Max muttered. "Well, are you going to introduce us to your friends?"

"Yeah." Drew nodded and pointed to each boy in turn. "This is Antonio, Jack, and Brick. Antonio's the only one in the contest, though."

"We know, we've been watching it every night." Ash said.

"So," Antonio clapped his hands together. "Want to go write this stuff?"

The others nodded, but a small hand on Drew's elbow stopped him. He did not have to look to see that it was Max. "Hey, I'll catch up to you, okay?"

Jack, Antonio, and Brick looked surprised, but nodded and walked away, Brock and Ash following. Drew and Max went to a couple of seats in the first row and sat down.

Max stared at him through his glasses. "May called Misty last night and told her everything."

Drew sighed. "I'm so, so sorry, Max, I tried my hardest to stop him. But May wouldn't have believed me anymore, anyway."

"I'm not mad, Drew." Max said. "Reading between the lines, Joey's been working really hard to make May hate you."

"Exactly." Drew smirked suddenly. "He's so confident about his victory, he told me his everything about his plan."

Max gasped. "No way! Tell me everything, tell me!!"

"I was going to anyway." Drew said as he began. Max was quiet and attentive for the whole five minutes it took to explain, and when the story was finished, Max looked as disgusted as the others had.

"This whole thing was for the _Grand Festival?!" _Max gasped. "Th-that's awful! That's lower than even Harley. Well, the way Harley used to be. We saw him and Soledad on our way here. They told us to tell you that they were coming to see you tonight and great job singing."

"So they're coming too, eh?" Drew said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, if I'm going to give them a show, I've got to get writing. But I'm going to still keep my promise, Max." he assured the younger boy. "I'm not letting Joey win."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Oh, hey, what do you think of this?" Bethany asked as she twirled one of the strands of her hair around her index finger. "_Will you say alright, will you say okay?... Will you try to make me feel better?... Will you say alright, will you say okay?... Will you stick with me through whatever, or run away...?"_

"That was great, Bethany," May said. "But I'm not sure it _quite_ matches up to your relationship with Jack."

The others girls laughed as Bethany blushed. Hiyono pulled a small notebook out of her pocket. "Really? Jack who? How long have you known him? How long have you been together? What do you think of-"

Misty hit her over the head with her mallet. "HIYONO! Don't go into journalist mode!"

Tohru sweatdropped. "Uh, Misty...? Where did you get that mallet?"

"This?" Misty idly turned it over in her hands. "I've had this for years. I use it to keep Brock from flirting too much, bring Ash to his senses, and make people shut up. I'm trying to stop, but I'm too in the habit."

"So... who do you like?" Michelle asked, resting her hands in her lap. "I like Brick Lars."

"Ooooh, are we talking about boys here?" a girl cried as she came walking over, smiling blissfully. She looked to be about ten or eleven years old. "I'm Sakura Mikan, but everyone calls me Mikan! I like a boy named Hyuuga Natsume, but everyone calls him Natsume!"

"That's great!" Tohru said happily, moving over to give the hyper little girl room to sit. The other girls looked a little surprised at Mikan's sudden appearence, but they just shrugged it off. After all, the more the merrier, right?

"I'm Misty Waterflower, and I have a great boyfriend named Ash Ketchum." the orange haired girl said. "I met him when he first started his journey as a trainer, and I traveled with him for three years. After that, I had to become the gym leader for my family, and then May traveled with him and met-" She stopped suddenly. Misty knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to mention Drew in front of May right now.

"I'm Bethany Anderson." She raised her hand. "I was best friends with my boyfriend, Jack Smith, for about ten years. Now we're together."

"Have you kissed?" Mikan piped up.

Bethany blushed and laughed. "No, not yet."

"I'm sure you will soon." Tohru said. "Well, I'm Tohru Honda and I'm sort of caught between two guys- Yuki and Kyo Sohma. They're both really sweet and really nice to me, and I think they both might like me, but I'm not sure. Not to mention, if I go for either of them, I'll be dead meat. The girls at my school call Yuki 'Prince Yuki' and another girl in the Sohma family, Kagura, is totally in love with Kyo and she wouldn't hesitate to rip my head clean off my shoulders."

"Oh," Hiyono flinched. "That's a bit of a sticky situation. You don't want to get in the way of their friendship, do you?"

"They hate each other with a passion." Tohru admitted.

Hiyono looked taken aback. "Well then... Um, you can each consider the qualities you like in a guy and see which boy posesses more of them."

Tohru thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll try that!"

"Great. Well then," the second braided girl smiled. "I'm Hiyono Yuizaki, the editor for my high school newspaper! My boyfriend is Ayumu Narumi, a detective trying to solve the mystery of the Blade Children. I first met him when he was the prime suspect in an attempted murder case." The other girls gaped at her. Hiyono quickly waved her hands around. "No, no, no! I'm not saying he did it! He had been framed! Ayumu was actually the one who solved the case."

"That's good. We can't have any of our friends dating potential murderers." Michelle said.

"You sound like my friend Ansa," Tohru told her.

"I'm Catherine Ricks, but do me a favor and call me Cat." The others laughed. "I really, really like Antonio Maleke, but I'm afraid to tell him. He's so popular with the girls, and most of them are way prettier than me."

"You know what?" Misty asked. "I know that I know absolutely nothing about the guy, but when I met him, he didn't look like that type of guy to just like a girl because of her looks."

"Yeah, and you should've seen how much he blushed when we told him you were there, Cat." Michelle said to her best friend. "He's got a crush on you, big time!"

Cat blushed. "You think?"

"I'm sure of it." May finally spoke, looking up from her paper. She smiled, though somehow, the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. "Antonio talked about you all week. He was trying to impress you, I think."

Hiyono laughed at the shocked look on Cat's face, then turned to May. "Alright, May, your turn."

May sighed. "My name is May Maple and my boyfriend's name is D- Joey Graystone." she blushed at her near name slip. But at that moment, she was suddenly confused. Why had she nearly said... that name? Was it just because she had been thinking about him for the past few hours? Or... was it something far more different?

"What's your song called?" Bethany asked, trying to read it from the other side of the circle.

May laughed softly. "I'm going to call it... 'Cold As You.'"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo**

"I got nothing." Drew said as he lay back against the tree. "I mean, I really can't think of anything."

"Well, why not try and write about something you're feeling?" Brick suggested. "Like how you feel about the thing with... Meg?"

"May." Drew immediately corrected. Brick smiled sadly.

"What about you, Antonio?" Ash asked. The boys had all clicked as well as the girls had, and were sure to be friends for life.

The boy grinned. "I finished! It's called 'Just the Girl!'"

"Is it about Cat?" Brock asked as Drew started pounding his head on the tree.

"So what if it is?" Antonio asked, flushing. Brock laughed.

"That's really sweet, writing a song for the girl you lo-" His phone suddenly started ringing. Once he saw the caller ID, he said, "I gotta take this... hi, Cori!"

Drew's mouth fell open. In a rather hoarse whisper, he asked, "Who's Cori?"

"A girl we met at the pokemon center on the second or third day of the contest. They really got along, a lot better than you'd expect. They're now trying out a long distance relationship until Cori finishes her summer internship at the Pokemon Center. Then she's going to travel with us." Max explained. Drew sighed as he closed his eyes, adding another couple to his mental "Friends of Mine that Have a Girlfriend" list.

_So unfair, _he thought, slightly bitter. _Seems like everyone I know has someone they have. But the girl I love now hates everything about me. It's hard enough trying to act like I'm fine and that I don't care about May being with Joey, but I still try to do it, even though it hurts more everyday. Trying to go on with life when it feels like yours is over... But, of all that, just as it was last night, what hurts the most..._

Drew sat straight up as a brainwave hit him. _What hurts the most..._

He grabbed the pencil that had been resting behind his ear and started writing.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo**

"Hello, and welcome to the last night of _Singing Stars!_" Destiny said into the microphone, speaking loudly over the roar of the crowd. Drew had been told that there were only 1500 people in the audience, but there seemed to be many many many many many many many many many (_Drew: WE GET IT!) _more than that. He was standing in the clearing between the judges' table and the stage, as she had instructed last night. His friends were all sitting in a line in the first row, as was Scott, who had wanted to see him during the day but hadn't been able to take time off work.

"Yes, tonight are the live finals of the first season of our show! Our next season will begin recording next month. Anyway..." Destiny laughed. "To introduce our judges... first, from our very own pokemon center... Nurse Joy!"

"I'm sure all of our finalists will be completely amazing!" Nurse Joy said happily, brushing a strand of pink hair away from her face. She had switched out of her usual nurse uniform and put on a simple, long white sundress.

"Next... Please welcome, from SweetStreet records, Miss Alice Hitori!"

The trendy looking young woman smiled. "Hey, hey! Good luck, all of you!"

"Last, but not least, here's the judge from Kanto Idol... Mark Miztrey!"

"I certainly hope that you're a little better than the junk I have to take from that show." Mark said loftliy. (A/N Get it? They're based off of the judes from American Idol. Joy-Paula, Alice-Randy, Mark-Simon! LOL!)

Destiny beamed. "Just so everyone at home knows, there are five people in the competition. In order of their turns of singing tonight, first we will have Joey Graystone of New Arbor City, who has remained solidly in fifth place throughout this contest. Next, and in fourth place, will be Antonio Maleke, the gym leader for Flouroma Town! In third and singing third is Bethany Anderson, from Ellicott City. After this we will take a brief five-minute intermission, and then will be the second place singer, miss May Maple of Petalburg City. And going fifth, in first place, is Drew Maxwell of La Rousse City!"

The crowd screamed in anticipation as she finished. A few minutes later, Joey came out and sang.

Drew was trying to avoid looking at the stage, and was instead looking at the crowd. He froze when he saw someone sneakily slip into the clearing; Sabrina Morgans.

"What the...?" Drew muttered. What was going on? Sabrina wasn't in this competition anymore. She had been kicked out the night before, and the girl hadn't seemed interested in the contest anyway. So why was she creeping into the front row?

A sudden burst of applause from the crowd alerted Drew to the fact that Joey had just finished. The judges were scoring him, and a minute later, Antonio stepped onto the stage. He grinned as the electric guitar music started up. After a few seconds, he started:

_"She's cold and she's cruel  
But she knows what she's doin'  
She pushed me in the pool  
At our last school reunion  
She laughs at my dreams  
But I dream about her laughter  
Strange as it seems  
She's the one I'm after_

_Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep comin' back for more  
She's just the girl I'm lookin' for_

_She can't keep a secret  
For more than an hour  
She runs on 100 proof attitude power  
And the more she ignores me  
The more I adore her  
What can I do?  
I'd do anything for her_

_Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep comin' back for more  
She's just the girl I'm lookin' for_

_The way she sees it's me  
On her caller ID  
She won't pick up the phone  
She'd rather be alone  
But I can't give up just yet  
Cause every word she's ever said  
Is still ringin' in my head  
Still ringin' in my head_

_She's cold and she's cruel  
But she knows what she's doin'  
Knows just what to say  
So my whole day is ruined_

_Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep comin' back for more_

_Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help myself  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep comin' back for more  
Oh, I keep comin' back for more  
She's just the girl I'm lookin' for  
Just the girl I'm lookin' for_

_I'm lookin' for  
I'm lookin' for  
I'm lookin' for  
Just the girl I'm lookin' for..."_

Antonio finished, pointing out at the crowd. However, if Drew followed his gaze, one would think he was pointing straight at Catherine. He winked, and stepped offstage. Catherine was blushing very hard, though it was clear that she was fighting to suppress a grin.

After that, Bethany stepped up onto the stage, thinking it over. She had gotten the idea for this song when she had told the girls about how long she had been friends with Jack, and how they had slowly progressed to this, and what she had called him when they were practicing for the duets...

And then there was the drumbeat, and Bethany opened her mouth and began:

_"My homie since knee high  
We came up on the south side  
Where you had to beat the street lights home  
We got into some street fights  
But the next day we be right back get it Oh  
Wherever there was me, there was you  
And we were like crew  
Straight to junior high school  
Then you messed it all up  
Started pushing up  
Kissed me on the cheek  
And I fell in love_

_Shorty's a little taller now  
Into big things, he's a baller now  
His heart never changed  
I can see he's still down  
I can't forget him (No no no no)  
More than his voice is changing now  
All that I see is rearranging now (Now)  
It just ain't the same  
Catchin feelings now  
I should tell him (Yea)_

_Ooo when the boy next door (Next door)  
Don't want to be my homeboy no more  
Saw something that I never saw before  
I think he wants to be my baby, baby  
Ooo I've known him all my life (My life)  
Now I see him in a whole new light  
Something about it feels so right (That's why)  
I think he wants to be my baby, baby_

_Every night when we get home  
Under covers talking on the phone  
Here comes my mother  
It's way too late  
Might get in trouble  
My heart can't wait (So much to take)  
Writing till my hand cramps up  
4 pages saying I'm in love (more than a crush)  
Can't get you off my mind (Come pick me up baby)  
I'm sure I'll be fine when I look into your eyes_

_Shorty's a little taller now  
Into big things, he's a baller now  
His heart never changed  
I can see he's still down  
I can't forget him  
More than his voice is changing now  
All that I see is rearranging now  
It just ain't the same  
Catchin feelings now  
I should tell him (Gotta tell him that I love him)_

_Ooo when the boy next door (Next door)  
Don't want to be my homeboy no more  
Saw something that I never saw before  
I think he wants to be my baby, baby  
Ooo I've known him all my life (My life)  
Now I see him in a whole new light  
Something about it feels so right (That's why)  
I think he wants to be my baby, baby_

_Chocolate covered candy kisses  
They keep me reminiscing  
All I want is what your giving  
Nothing like your affection  
So in love and you're the reason  
There's no more lonely season  
Lately boy, you drive me crazy  
Think I wanna be your lady_

_Chocolate covered candy kisses  
They keep me reminiscing  
All I want is what your giving  
Nothing like your affection  
So in love and you're the reason  
There's no more lonely season  
Lately boy, you drive me crazy  
Think I wanna be your lady_

_Oh-we-oh  
Oh oh oh (Don't wanna be my homeboy no more)  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh  
Oh oh oh  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh  
Oh oh oh  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh (Why why why why why)  
Now homeboy wants to be my baby, be my baby, be my baby  
Oh-we-oh  
Oh oh oh (He don't wanna be my homeboy no more)  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh  
Oh oh oh  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh (No more)  
Oh oh oh  
Oh-we-oh-we-oh-we-oh (Said he)  
Now homeboy wants to be my baby, be my baby, be my baby  
(Wants to be my baby now, now, now now now)"_

Bethany smiled as she finished. The crowd applauded loudly, and she slowly stepped offstage, only to run into Jack.

"Oh... hey, Jack." She said awkwardly.

Jack smiled. "Hey. Nice job, Bethany. So... I'm your homboy, huh?"

Bethany smiled back, her daring side taking over. She stepped closer to him. "Yeah... I suppose."

Jack copied her moves. Leaning closer to her, he said, "Chocolate candy kisses? Where did that come from?"

"I dunno." Bethany closed her eyes. "I remembered when we first met and lately I've..."

"What?" Jack asked. They both stared at each other for a moment (Bethany had opened her eyes), then graoned. "This is stupid."

And then he took his best friends' face in between his hands and kissed her. Bethany kissed him back and smiled, her hands hanging limply by her side. After a few seconds they broke apart and looked straight into each other's eyes. Bethany laughed and threw her arms around his neck. She couldn't believe that she'd just had her first kiss with Jack, her best friend, her boyfriend... her homeboy.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Five Minutes Earlier..._

Drew laughed as he watched Jack walk over to the stage area to see Bethany.

"How much are you willing to bet they're going to kiss back there?" Antonio asked.

Drew laughed. "Five bucks. I'm going to go to the bathroom for a minute." He turned around and walked out of the clearing. "Hi, May." he said when he passed her talking with Misty, Tohru, and Mikan.

May gave him a cold look, and turned around with a "Hmph!"

Drew stared at her for a moment, and left to go. There was a hallway through which one had to go down to reach the bathrooms, and then turned right at the end to go down another hallway. Once he was finished, he was about to walk away, but something stoped him.

"Come on, don't be that way. You know I miss you..." said a voice. Drew knew that voice. Was that... that couldn't be... but it was... _Joey!_

"Oh, alright," said a coy girls' voice. And then, the shadows cast by a light on the other side melded together.

Drew gasped. May kissing Joey, no, no, it couldn't be... _wait..._ he thought. _It can't be! May's out there! So what's Joey...?_

Slowly, Drew poked his head around the corner. He gasped at what he saw: Joey and none other than Sabrina, kissing passionately as if they were the only two people on the planet. Suddenly, Drew knew what to do- fumbling for his cell phone, he pulled it out of his pocket and took aim. A moment later, there was a picture of the two of them. Drew examined it. Yes, the boy in this could only be Joey. And he doubted that there was anything old silver hair could say to get himself out of this.

"Now, to find May," he muttered as he ran back outside. Judging from his watch, there were only two minutes left until the finals resumed. He quickly went up to the backstage area, where he was grateful to find May.

"May," he said as he went over to her. "May, I need to talk to you."

May turned towards him angrily and said. "I don't want to..." she suddenly saw the look in his eyes. It was a thousand times different than the one she remembered; the orbs that had once sparkled like polished emeralds were now a dark, faded green, the happiness and feeling gone. May's breath caught in her throat. _He must be a really, really good actor,_ she thought as she lookedaway and finished. "...hear it."

"May..." Drew said softly as Joey suddenly came by. Shoving Drew off to the side, he said, "Hey, May, you're up now! Good luck!"

"Oh, uh, thanks." May said as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, a little closer to her mouth than she really would have preferred. "I'm just going to go..." she stepped out into the spotlights as Joey waltzed over to Drew.

"You're still trying to win her back?" He laughed coldly and went back down the stairs. "Give up. She hates you now, and from now on, she always will."

Unknown to either boy, May had been watching that scene out of the corner of her eye, and was now extremely confused. Why- or what- was Joey laughing so harshly about? And why... why was Drew looking so angry, and suddenly, sad. Sad like, he had just let somebody down. Like he had just lost something that meant the world to him.

The beginning music jolted May back to her senses. This was Drew she was thinking about. The idiot she had allowed to manipulate her for three years. Not even the coldest snow storm there had been that year in the Johto region was as icy as the heart he had.

_"You have a way of coming easily to me  
And when you take, you take the very best of me  
So I start a fight cause I need to feel something  
And you do what you want cause I'm not what you wanted_

_Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day  
Just walk away, no use defending words that you will never say  
And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through  
I've never been anywhere cold as you_

_You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray  
And I stood there loving you and wished them all away  
And you come away with a great little story  
Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you_

_Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day  
So Just walk away, no use defending words that you will never say  
And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through  
I've never been anywhere cold as you_

_You never did give a damn thing honey but I cried, cried for you  
And I know you wouldn't have told nobody if I died, died for you, died for you_

_Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day  
Oh Every smile you fake is so condescending  
Counting all the scars you made  
__Now that I'm sittin here thinkin it all though  
I've never been anywhere as cold as you"_

May finished, and shot Drew a look that told him that she'd meant every word. Drew felt his heart break yet again; at last, here was real proof. May had loved him, and since Drew had been a huge idiot, his heart was torn into a thousand pieces and May was about to get her heart broken as well. Drew clenched his fists as May walked past him, refusing to look his way.

He slowly wlaked out into the spotlight that shone upon the microphone, and took it in both of his hands. (A/N- I've never tried this sort of thing, so tell me if you think it's alright.)

May stared up at the boy on the stage. Suddenly, expecting the loud rock beat that had blown out her ears last night, the melody of a soft acoustic guitar filled the room. She stared up at him in wonder, wondering what he had in store for them.

Drew took a deep breath as he thought:_ If that's how you want to play it... here you are, Joey._

_"I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me"_

Drew looked straight at Joey.

_"I can take a few tears now and then  
And just let 'em out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while"_

Now Drew's green eyes fell onto May.

_"Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again  
I pretend I'm ok, but that's not what gets me"  
_

**FLASHBACK**

_"What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And havin' so much to say"_

"So, Drew," May said as they sat under the tree half hour later. "I haven't seen you much the past few days. What've you been up to?"

"Not much," he replied, "All I've really been doing is practicing for the singing. You?"

"Same as you." May sighed and leaned back against the bark. Drew watched as she closed her eyes, looking as if she was about to drop off to sleep.

"Are you alright?" he asked. May sat up and sighed again.

**END FLASHBACK**

**FLASHBACK**

_"And watchin' you walk away  
And never knowin'  
What could've been  
And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was trying to do"_

A moment later, May jumped back up, saying, "There's Joey! I'm going to go say hi, I'll be back in a minute!"

"See you!" Drew said, false cheer in his voice. He watched as May ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Joey hugged her back and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Drew clenched his hands into tight fists as May blushed and held a hand up to her face as she returned.

"I'm back!" She said happily as she took her seat beside Drew. She caught sight of Drew's pained expression. "Drew, are you okay?"

"Fine." Drew said through gritted teeth. "Really excited."

**END FLASHBACK**

**FLASHBACK**

_"It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you every where I go  
But I'm doin' it"_

I'm a changed man, Drew." Harley told him, wrapping his arm around Soledad's shoulders and pulling her in close with a wink.

Drew stared for a second, and then buried his head into his hands. "You have got to be kidding me. Is everyone getting together? Harley and Soledad, Ash and Misty, Bethany and Jack, May and-" Drew couldn't finish his sentence.

_"It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone  
Still harder"_

Soledad rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright, Drew?"

Drew forced a very painful smile on his face. "Y-yeah. Of course I'm fine."

"Well... If you say so..." Soledad said softly, taking Harley's hand and exiting the cafe.

**END FLASHBACK**

_"Gettin' up, gettin' dressed, livin' with this regret, but I know  
If I could do it over  
I would trade, give away, show the words that I saved in my heart that I left unspoken"_

Those words were the words Drew had practiced saying to him self for weeks before he met Joey: "I love you."

**FLASHBACK**

_"What hurts the most  
Is being so close"_

As he watched a girl with long, dark, curly hair practice with her Espeon, Drew sensed someone come and sit beside him.

"Hi, Drew." She said softly.

"Hey." Drew replied, his heart pounding loudly as he turned to see May. _Lovely. She looks even more beautiful close up._

"Um, Drew... I kinda wanted to ask you something," May told him.

_"And havin' so much to say  
And watchin' you walk away"_

"But I want to be more than friends, May," he whispered. "I want to be so much more than friends..."

**END FLASHBACK**

_"And never knowin'  
What could've been  
And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

_Uhh hey yeaaaaaaaaah!"_

Drew looked out at the crowd. He saw all of his friends, new and old, on their feet as they cheered him on- Kyo and Tohru, hand in hand, as were Ayumu and Hiyono. Natsume was holding onto Mikan's hand... Catherine and Antonio, Jack and Bethany, Ash and Misty, Brick and Michelle, Brock and Max, Scott and Destiny. They were all waving their cell phones in the air, lighting up the room with the little squares of brightness. Joey and Sabrina looked ready to leap up onto the stage and strangle him on the spot. However, though Drew saw these things, the only thing he really registered was May. She was staring at him with her arms folded across her chest, but her sapphire eyes were wide with surprise. The blue eyes Drew loved so much. And at that moment, as he went into the final chorus, he knew that this was his last chance. He closed his eyes and remembered the most painful thing of his life.

**FLASHBACK**

_"What hurts the most"_

"Really? Thanks!" May blushed lightly, giving Drew the spark of nerve that made him say, "Hey, May-"

"Oh, wait! I want you to meet somebody." May interrupted happily.

_"Was being so close"_

"You do? Oh, uh, okay," Drew said as May rushed off. An ominous feeling rose up in his stomach as Masy came back over, holding the hand of a tall, silver haired boy.

_Oh no... this can't be happening..._ Drew thought as May said, "Drew, this is Joey Graystone. He's my boyfriend."

_"And havin' so much to say  
And watchin' you walk away "_

"May," he whispered, "You don't believe that, do you?"

"But- no, May!" Drew called after her as she turned and ran down the street, his hand stretched out to her, a hand she would never take... She rounded a corner and was gone.

**FLASHBACK**

_"And never knowin'  
What could've been"_

The image of Drew kissing May came back more clearly and sharply than ever before... so clear that he could nearly feel her lips on his.

_"And not seein' that lovin' you  
Is what I was tryin' to do"_

Drew looked straight at May again, his eyes full of the emotions he had never shown burning into hers.

_"Not seeing that loving you  
That's what I was trying to do..."_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo**

_Amv: T.T I'm crying right now!!_

_Drew: Start writing the next chapter, come on, go go go!!_

_Amv: Since when have you been a cheerleader?_

_Drew: Since when have I sang country music?_

_Amv: Fair enough. Review!!_


	13. Here Goes Everything

_Amv: WOOT WOOT!! You know, I just decided to make this the last chapter. _

_Drew: Do I get together with May?_

_Amv: You'll have to read it first!_

_Jack: Great! Let's go!_

_Antonio: Amv doesn't own Pokemon or the chorus of the song "Leave (Get Out)" by JoJo._

_Brick: Or any other part of the song, for that matter._

_Amv: Well, enjoy!_

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Here Goes Everything**

As the final notes faded into silence, Drew's green eyes stared deep into May's. She heard Joey telling her that Drew was an idiot, and that that entire song had been a lie, but the look on Drew's face said otherwise; he had really meant every word in that song.

"I-I have to go," May said, pushing past Joey and everyone else as she went to the door. The sun was beginning to set over the ocean, May noticed as she went along the boardwalk. She nimbly leapt over the wooden fence that separated the sidewalk from the sand, and slowly sat down about fifteen feet from the spot where the waves washed against the shore. The warm, soft sand in between her fingers and toes was oddly comforting, and allowed May to think more clearly.

Joey had told her for the past week that Drew was an arrogant jerk, and that had been true... but why did Drew sing that particular song? She knew for a near fact that Antonio and Bethany and Joey had written their songs based off of their current lives, so it would be commoon sense to assume that Drew had, too... but the lyrics, and just the rhythm, hadn't matched up to the Drew Joey had been describing to her for that week.

"It just doesn't make sense..."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Drew searched through the crowd as he stepped back into the clearing, but May was nowhere to be found.

"Max!" Drew called. The little boy turned to face him. "Where's May?"

"She left right after your song ended." Max told him.

"Thanks." Drew clapped him on the shoulder and started heading for the door. He was nearly there, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned, and to his surprise, saw Kyo and Ayumu.

"What?" Drew asked, exaperated.

"You should hurry." Kyo said. "The silver haired slimeball just followed her."

"Good luck, Drew." Ayumu said. He gently pushed the boy forward. "Now go!"

Drew smiled. "I'm running!"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

May sighed for the sixth time as she looked out at the ocean waves. The sun had sunk lower, becoming a glowing red half circle out on the faraway horizon. The clouds around it were light pink and pale crimson, the higher ones more of a light purple. The clear blue waves sparkled at the top of their crests just before they curled over and became light foam.

For the past few days, May had been trying to act like she didn't miss the cocky but compassionate Drew she had once known, but it was impossible. It seemed that there was a gaping hole in her heart where he had once been, and nothing May told herself made it go away. The nagging sense of loss scared May a little. Even when Joey was her boyfriend, during one of their quiet periods, Drew would come to her mind, and nothing she told herself made him go away.

And then there was Joey himself. He had been trying to get closer to her for a few days, but every time he did, May would get a buring feeling in her heart, telling herself that something was wrong. Something was wrong with her and Joey's relationship. After all, if Drew's uncle really was the boss of Team Rocket, how did he know, when Drew hadn't even told her? And why would he try his hardest to try and make her hate him, if May was already his girlfriend?

_Girlfriend_. The word that had once made her feel giddy when she thought about Joey was now making her feel sick to her stomach, and a pang go through her heart. And then an image of Drew would appear in her mind...

"May!" a boy's voice called. May turned, a smile breaking across her face, but it fell away when she saw that it was Joey. Her heart fell, but a moment later she asked herself, _Why am I so disappointed? It's not like I wanted someone else to turn up..._

"Hi, Joey." May said, forcing a smile on her face. Joey sat down beside her, a little closer than probably neccesary.

"Are you alright? You look like something's bothering you." Joey said, frowning slightly.

May shook her head. "I'm... I'm just... thinking."

Joey looked like he was about to say something, but then his eyes flickered to something over her shoulder. He smirked suddenly, and put an arm around her waist. May fought against a shudder.

"Maybe this will help you feel better," He said as he started to lean in.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"Now, if I were May and I just heard myself sing that song, where would I go?" Drew muttered. A moment later he frowned. "Okay, that made no sense. Where do I think May is?"

Drew frowened as he thought for a moment. Somewhere calm, somewhere quiet, somewhere that most people won't be at this time of night...

"The beach." He concluded as he walked quickly down the sidewalk. A few minutes later, he came to the boardwalk.

_Okay, _Drew thought, _Let's hope she's here..._ He wandered down the walk for a few minutes, staring out at the sand dunes. It looked like the entire beach was deserted, but then two figures appreared in the distance.

"Is that them?" Drew wondered as he quickened his pace. "Yeah, that's May! And... Joey." He added when he saw the silver haired boy next to her.

Joey looked past May's shoulder and straight into Drew's eyes. A wide smirk suddenly broke out across his face, and a moment later, said something to May. Then he put an arm around her waist, closed his eyes, and moved in for a kiss.

Drew's blood ran ice-cold.

"No..." he whispered.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

May stared at Joey's face as he moved closer. She suddenly realized how awfully pale his skin was. Ick.

He pulled her in slightly, making May's gaze drop to his mouth. Wait... was that... _lip gloss?_

Suddenly, May remembered a dream she had had a litle over a week ago... and then his voice was running through her head, as clearly as if her was whispering in her ear:

_"If you must know, I'm Drew. Pokemon corrdinator!" "Hmm... that last move had some real art to it!" "Not you, it's for was for your Beautifly!" "Oh, how sweet, you remembered my name." "I'm hoping to see you here next year, too, May." "Did you save me?" "Just two more ribbons." "Next time we meet, I expect to see your new style, okay?" "And I told you before... Don't worry about me." "May, I need to talk to you." "Just between you, me, and the door frame..." "You kissed me yesterday, remember? That was my getting back at you." "Not seeing that loving you... that's what I was trying to do..."_

And then above it all, May's heart suddenly shreiked:

_"DON'T KISS HIM!!"_

May's body acted without thinking- with her left hand, she reached up and stopped Joey from moving another inch. With her right hand, she pulled his arm away from her and pushed it back towards him.

"May- what-?! But...?" Joey spluttered as May moved away. "What was that about?"

May shrugged. Her heart was pounding rapidly, telling her that she had done right, that she couldn't kiss him, because May didn't want to share her first kiss with him. Suddenly, as inexplicable as her tears over him from last night, May was longing for...

"May!"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

Drew's mouth fell open as May shoved Joey away before his lips met hers. As Joey stammered in shock, May scooted over until she was about five feet away from him. He leapt over the fence and ran over to them, calling out, "May!" as he did.

"Drew!" May gasped as she stod up. Drew kneeled over, his hands on his knees as he fought to regain his breath; he hadn't been able to breathe when Joey was leaning in.

After a minute, he stood up and said, "May, I need to tell you somethin-!"

"Shut up, Greenie." Joey snarled ashe stood squarely in front of May. "And you were just interrupting a moment. You want to ruin everything for May, don't you? Just go away and-"

"Hypocrite." Drew spat at the silver haired boy.

Joey smirked. "Me? A hypocrite? Never. Besides, May's already angry enough at you as it is- she hates you. So just-"

"Get out of my way." Drew said as he pushed Joey off to the side as he walked over to May. She closed her eyes, as if afraid of what would happen, but then felt Drew's hands gently gripping her on the shoulders. "May..." he said softly. "You've known me for three years... and after all of that time... do you think I'd ever do anything Joey told you I did? Do you think I would give you those roses just to make fun of you? Do you think I'd actually cheat?"

May opened her eyes to see Drew's face only a few inches from hers. "W-what?"

Drew laughed lightly. Same old clueless May. "May, look into my eyes and tell me... _do you really think that I'd do that to you?"_

May bit her lip and looked up from her feet. Her sapphire eyes caught his emerald ones, and a miracle happened.

Joey seemed to vanish. So did the sea, the sky, the sun... the world vanished. Wait, no. This was the world, The two of them standing together, staring straight into each others eyes. May's heart suddenly started pounding, beating faster and faster until that was the only thing she could hear. She felt herself blush as she realized how close their faces were to each others'. The sparkle that had been gone for so long returned to her eyes as the feelings that had been locked away broke free; May had fallen back in love with him.

Drew saw the glitter he had missed for so long glowing in her eyes and nearly laughed in relief as she said. "No... no, I don't think you did that..."

"WHAT?!" Joey shouted. May jumped- she had completely forgotten that he was there. "May, how can you do this to me? I'm you boyfriend!"

Drew gave May one last look, and pulled away to face Joey. "Give it up, Joey. The charade is over."

Joey looked taken aback for a moment, but then he smirked. "Really? And what makes you think that?"

"Because you messed up," Drew said simply. "You were seen kissing your real girlfriend."

May's mouth fell open. "_His what?!"_

"Don't believe him, May." Joey said loftliy. "After everything he's put you through-"

Drew laughed hallowly. "I've put her through? _I've _put her through? Who's the one who always made the sarcastic comments, the snide remarks, making fun of her coordinating skills, her friends, her family...?"

Joey crossed him arm. "So I'm not the nicest person. And you did most of those things, too!"

"I know I did. And lately, I've been really regretting it." Drew admitted. "But I would try to make up for it, behind the small hints and a rose I claimed was for her pokemon."

"Drew..." May whispered in shock. He had really... done that for her? Yes, he had, she realized. Every time May had been down or sad because of him, he would somehow make up for it later. He had actually always been there for her. Even when she was with Joey, he had tried to remain her friend.

"May!" Joey's sharp voice said. She jumped slightly and noticed that both boys were staring intently at her. "Do you believe this idiot?"

May felt a flicker of anger at the way Joey addressed him. "Yes, I do believe that idiot. But I don't understand. Why did you try to turn me against Drew?"

"I can explain that," Drew said. "It was all part of a plan to help his girlfriend win the Grand Festival. His real girlfriend, that is- none other than Sabrina Morgans!"

Joey glared at him. "Prove it."

Drew grinned, a flame lighting up inside of him. "Gladly."

And then he tugged his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolled down his photos list, and clicked on the most recent one. It blew up to cover the entire screen as Drew held it up to the silver haired boy. He was so shocked, he didn't even move as Drew went to May. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the irrevocable evidence- Drew had been right. Joey had cheated her.

Then she said, in a remakably calm voice, "You never realy liked me at all, did you?"

That was Joey's breaking point.

"Like you? May, I'd love to meet the idiot who's like you (_Guess I'm an idiot, then, _Drew thought). I mean, seriously- you're naive, you're an idiot, you're an awful coordinator, a smushed ant is more attrative than you, and you never look at anything seriously! Sabrina's the only girl I'll ever love! I hate you!"

Drew gaped at Joey, and started walking over to him, getting ready to punch him... but May got there first. SMACK!

She had slapped Joey across the face so hard that a red handmark shone as brightly as a sunburn. Her face was flushed red with fury. "I dare you to say that straight to my face! I can't believe you! I mean- you- us- _Sabrina_-" and then she sang, he voice loud and clear:

_"Get out, right now  
It's the end of you and me  
It's too late, and I can't wait for you to be gone,  
'cause I know, about her, and I wonder,  
How I bought all the lies,  
you said that you would treat me right  
but you was just a waste of time "  
_  
"Gladly!" Joey bellowed as he spun around and ran back down the beach. Drew watched him go, not daring to believe it. Did May just break up with Joey? So did that mean that she was free again? However, a soft sniffle behind him made him spin around. What he saw made his heart melt.

May was standing alone, tears slowly rolling down her face. She bit her lip when she saw that Drew was watching her. She wiped her eyes and said. "It's wierd, I should be really brokenhearted about what just happened... but I'm sort of relieved. But I can't believe how _stupid _I was! And- and everything he said was right, too." May gave a tiny gasp and the tears began to fall faster. "I am naive, I am an idiot, I am a lousy coordinator... and because of that, I nearly lost you as a friend, Drew."

Drew's heart gave a pang as he heard her say his name. Then, hardly knowing that he was really doing it, he slowly walked over to her until he was standing right in front of her.

May hiccupped softly. "Look, Drew, I really don't-"

Her words trailed away as Drew pulled her into his arms for a big hug, her face pressed into his shoulder. May was stiff for a moment, but slowly she relaxed and allowed herself to cry herself dry.

Drew gently patted her on the back. "May..." he said after a few minutes. "Don't you listen to a word he said. Joey's the one at fault here, not you. It's Joey's own fault for not seeing how awesome you really are, May. I mean, you're nice, and compassionate, and a great coordinator, and a great singer, and you're beautiful and why am I still talking?"

May laughed at his last comment, but pulled away. "Drew?"

"Yeah?" Drew asked as he turned to face her. He noticed that May was blushing nearly as bad as he was.

May looked at her feet, twiddling her fingers together. "Well... it's just that... after everything that's happened... I wanted to know... well, just the truth. I've been really unfair to you, Drew. I want to hear your side of the story."

Drew stared at her for a moment, his heart falling. What could he do now? Could he just go on acting like he didn't love her? Could he really just leave her again? _No, _Drew told himself, _No, I can't do that again. I have to tell her._

Drew looked straight into her eyes. "You want to know the truth? Close your eyes."

May looked confused for a moment, but then she said, "Okay..." and slowly slipped her eyelids closed.

Drew took a deep breath and stepped closer to her. He felt himself shaking slightly as she gently cupped her face in between his hands. _Here goes everything._

And, with more courage than he had ever thought he would have, Drew slowly leaned in and rested his lips on hers.

May's eyes snapped open. She had asked for the truth... and he had kissed her. But, why? And why did May like it so much? But then it dawnd on her; it was why she had always looked forward to the next contest, why she had found herself always wanting to impress him, even when she was with Joey, why she hadn't allowed herself to kiss Joey, why Drew had always been in her dreams. It was because she loved him. Her heart was his, before she met Joey, while she was dating Joey...

_And it always will be his, _May thought as she closed her eyes again.

The moments it took for May's epephany to hit home were some of the most terrifying ones of his life. Then, May kissed him back. Drew was so shocked that he momentarily opened his eyes again, but then he closed them again as they fell into their first real kiss. May reached up and gently enclosed her hands around Drew's wrists.

After what could've been an eternity, but was really only forty-five seconds, they broke apart. May looked down at her feet, blushing furiously. Drew laughed, and gently brought her face up to his. Staring straight into her eyes, he said. "To put the whole thing simply, I...I... I'm crazy about you." That was as good as saying 'I love you' right?

May stared at him for a moment, then a smile lit up her beautiful face. "I never would've thought I'd admit it, but... Drew, I've been head over heels for you since I met you." Well, 'head over heels,' 'I love you', close enough, right?

Drew looked surprised for a moment, but then he grinned. "Well, then..." He threw his arms around her waist and pulled her close for another kiss. May smiled as she put her arms up around his neck.

Drew quickly pinched himself on the arm to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He had pinched the spot where he had dug his nail, and though it hurt A LOT, he was glad to not wake up. He felt the pieces of his shatterd heart come together, and Drew might as well have been in heaven.

Unknown to them, a ways away on the boardwalk, they were being watched by all of their friends, new and old.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Tohru said happily, leaning into Kyo's shoulder.

"Yeah, it is!" Hiyono said, putting her arms around Ayumu's neck. A moment later the two were kissing, completely oblivious to Bethany and Jack making gagging faces. (A/N- hahaha, hypocrites!)

"So, does this mean that they're going to be dating from now on?" Ash wondered.

Misty hit him hard with her mallet. "Honestly, Ash, I love you, but sometimes you're so stupid!"

"Yes, it means that they're together," Soledad explained.

"It's about time!" Harley agreed.

"I'm so happy for my cousin!" Destiny said happily, holding Scott's hand.

"You're his cousin?!" Mikan gasped.

"Duh. Green hair, green eyes." Natsume said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, and Natsume?" Mikan suddenly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for singing that song for me!"

"Young love." Antonio said with a sigh as he glanced at Catherine. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and gave him a five second kiss.

"Just wanted to do that." Cat said as she pulled away, Antonio looking shocked. He had to grab onto the fence to keep on his feet.

If May and Drew had broken apart, they probably could have seen their friends watching them, and gotten pretty mad before they saw the romance that just broke out among members of them. They could have seen Sabrina break up with Joey, and slap him on the other side of the face May had. They could have seen the beautiful, fairy-tale like sinset that shone behind them, which seemed to illuminate them with a golden light.

But they didn't look around them. They didn't break apart. And at that moment, they never wanted to.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

_Amv: Waaahhh!! I'm crying happy tears right now! It's finally finished! Oh, and yeah, May and Drew did get together after that. _

_Scorp1029: I can't believe that it's done!_

_Purpleduckies9: Me neither! _

_Jack: I'm going to miss this. _

_Antonio: Me too._

_Amv: Well, don't get too down! There's still the sequel!_

_Drew: There's a sequel?_

_Amv: Yeah, but it's not coming out for a year or two. _

_May: Okay! Well, good luck with your future stories!_

_Amv: Thanks! Thank you for everyone who has read and reviewed for this, and thank you all for just clicking on this! Love you all! Thank you! Bless you!_

_Drew:...We need to cut your sugar intake._

_Amv: Bye bye! Please review for the last time! Oh, yeah- I don't really know what to do with Joey. Why don't you... write your own fics about it? As long as you don't kill the guy. Tell me about it, that would be really funny._


End file.
